Daily Liturgy and Scripture: Recent Episodes
Alex Parrish
A Psalm (or part of one), an Old Testament Reading, and a New Testament reading each day. Start with the Apostles' Creed, end with the Lord's Prayer. Current readings are from the New International Version. Through 2021, scriptures were read from the New Living Translation.
Paul's decision to preach only to the Gentiles is born out of a bit of frustration, but the outcome is important. The effort to include the Gentiles in the gospel is no longer a portion of his effort, it is his focus. This would define the early Church in a new way.
What if Paul had turned his back on the Athenians because their view of God was so wrong? Thank God he didn't, because the gospel was shared because of Paul's work there. It didn't result in a mass revival, but it did result in work the way that God works well: by planting seeds that grow among his people.
You have to wonder which of Paul's qualities made him one of the primary growers of the early Church. He was highly adept at harmonizing Christianity and Judaism, he was also skilled in academic circles. But he also had enough influence with his enemies that he was described as "causing trouble all over the world," which he probably took as a compliment!
Where Peter walked out of prison, Paul chose to stay. The ways God uses to grow his people are not always the same, not even in the same circumstance. It's important to stay engaged in prayer and listen to the Spirit to know where that is.
It is not always perfect harmony that carries along the growth of God's Kingdom, sometimes it is a parting of ways. Paul and Barnabas has been partners, but their breakup actually grew the early Church in new areas.
The growing church isn't about star preachers, it's about spreading the word. The choice of Judas (not Iscariaot, Judas was a very common name) and Silas was to teach and grow the believers. Of course, Paul couldn't be the only one working in the field, but training new trainers had certainly been part of his call.
The Church in the first century worked hard to find unity and and identity, and this was an important moment. Known as the Council of Jerusalem, it was the first time that the Church met to establish an agreed-upon theological point, and many more were to follow.
Paul is unstoppable. Not only past an apparent stoning, but also propelled by the desire to share the good news. The fervor with which he was determined to persecute the church is now the fervor with which he wishes to grow the church, and only God could bring about such a change.
There are some who simply aren't ready for the Gospel. Maybe they find it unbelievable, stupid, or not worth their time. Whatever the reason, our time is precious. Paul's "shaking the dust from his feet" is less a sign of defeat and more a statement of, "I have done all I can for you, and you are now on your own." This action luckily only occurs a few times in the New Testament.
Paul was once a devout Jew, and now he uses that experience to speak to others who are still on a similar path. Luckily, the gospel is for everyone. The way it fits into the Jewish story is all part of God's plan.
Paul encounters someone who is warping the ways of the Lord in their teaching of someone who is a true seeker, and so Paul's response is interesting: he afflicts the man with blindness, the very thing Paul himself was afflicted with at his conversion. And indeed it was a conversion for Paul. Perhaps he hoped for a similar outcome for Elymas.
What happens when God answers our prayers and we aren't ready? Peter's release from prison is a pretty dramatic example: the answer is in front of us, but we refuse to believe it's real.
The new fellowship of Jews and non-Jews wasn't automatic, some of the believers went out still working in the old, "Jews-only" way. Being patient with one another is critical, because not everyone sees things happening at the same time. Luckily, the Spirit is present in all.
Everything is new in this new Kingdom of Jesus. New fellowship of both Jews and Gentiles, new baptism in the Spirit, new kingship by Jesus. But God is still the God of Jews, and he has not forgotten them. The different is that the Jewish people are not the owners of the promise, Jesus fulfilled God's promise to them and brings a new one.
Peter and Cornelius have both met with God in prayer, and that connection is what God has used to start a new chapter in church history: baptizing non-Jews. This level of inclusion meant that while Jesus and the apostles were Jews, Christians were a new classification all their own.
The ways in which God chooses to reveal new things aren't always direct. Speaking to Peter in the language of eating things to reveal the expansion of God's people may seem odd, but God knows our minds.
Building a legacy of faith was critical in the early days of the church, which is perhaps the reason that these believers were being resurrected. Certainly, they died again, but the power of the Spirit was also showing itself as the young church formed its identity.
Moments where scales fall from our eyes give us an insight into things we haven't seen before. Perhaps it comes with the downfall of a favorite leader, the unraveling of a deeply held belief, or the ending of a dream. Whatever the case, letting go of what may be a lesser pursuit may be the opening to a greater one.
The Ethiopian eunuch had been to Jerusalem, but he may have actually been denied entrance to the temple. Deut. 23:1 forbids eunuchs from entering, and it's likely that he could have taken his trip there in vain. But he was seeking, and God will not leave those who seek him behind.
What makes a disciple of Jesus? It is not a quality that can be purchased, as Simon discovered. He had come to follow a different path, but he did not want to do the work of transformation before he started being a miracle worker. The Apostles certainly did their time in transformation, and the struggles they had suffered made them ready for the job.
Stephen is definitely stoking a fire. Talking about rebellion among the people, he now turns to the Jewish leaders and says, "you did this too, to Jesus." They respond with violence, the opposite of the message of Jesus. As Martin Luther King said, "The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy."
The story of Moses and the patriarchs is prelude to the story of Jesus, which is why Stephen includes it. Not only was Moses an outcast as Jesus was, but he was also revered, and trying to separate the New and Old Testaments would have lost his Jewish audience. Indeed, the new covenant is a fulfillment of the promises being made through Jewish history.
As the gospel came into conflict with the old system of Law, Stephen becomes the person who works out the differences in public. God was doing a new thing, a continuation of the work that had been going on since creation, and Stephen opens with showing how many twists and turns had happened in that story up to now, when the twist of Jesus came into reality.
The measure of success in the early church was measured by Gamaliel, one of the most revered teachers of the day: "If their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." A good reminder that the establishment of the church was. not only a place for people to learn behavior modification, it was also a partnership with the author of life.
Sharing of possessions was necessary in the early church for both practical and spiritual reasons. As people came into this new community of Christ, many were poor, and the gospel was one of loving others. Working that out in life, meeting needs was also living up to promise of the gospel message.
This is a pivotal moment in the history of the Church. Peter and John and standing before the very people who were instrumental in Jesus's death, and they are standing beside a man who has been given back his life. The unveiling of what God is doing could not be more perfectly illustrated than that.
It's a fun comparison between these Old and New Testament passages. Ecclesiastes talks about making investments, and it seems that Peter makes a New Testament-style one: investing in the lame man, giving him back a life. That investment is what Jesus also made in us, giving us the ability to be whole and at one with God.
In the second section of the sermon from Peter, it's an interesting exercise to remember that this is the same man who denied Jesus three times. When he talks about the importance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the need for repentance, this isn't just a story. This is what brought him to this sermon.
Pentecost Sunday is just behind us, but we find ourselves back here in the regular flow of the reading plan! Perhaps this quick reminder is a good one: the Gospel has been brought to all people, not to just a select few. God is the God of all, and the Son died for all.
Interesting that even the actions of Judas are tied to the work of God. This moment in the history of Jesus's kingdom could have been devastating, he has left the work to a group of men who almost universally deserted him. Luckily, God allows comebacks.
It's interesting that, even at Jesus's ascension, the apostles still don't understand what power really is. They are looking for a restoration of their nation, but Jesus is offering them a new Kingdom. Perhaps discipleship is a journey that never ends until we live in that newly established Kingdom.
Theology, humility, and hospitality are all hallmarks of the body of Christ, and especially for us to show to one another. In this little pastoral letter, a selfish person who denies fellow believers, choosing instead to promote himself. This should not be our way.
The spreading of the Gospel is the work of God, and Pentecost is one of the events that sound the great work of God. The message is God's, and we are carriers. The future we have in Jesus is indeed good news, and it was very much worth getting to everyone.
This is a pretty important foundation, though in current times it is less disputed: Jesus is God, and our life is grounded in him. In the first century, when the reality of Jesus coming, dying, and rising from the dead was a little more debated, this would have been critical for the young church to know. It remains as important to our reality today.
Love and fear cannot coexist. Loving others means we do not fear them, and we have no reason to. God has sealed us eternally as his own, so we are free to love as only Jesus could.
The trademarks of love and of the Spirit are shared with our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. This is both because we should share that love with our spiritual family, but also because that shared loves gives our family the kind of attraction that makes others want to be part of it.
The children of God, living in the Kingdom of Jesus, look different than those around them. The undercurrent of love and the work of the Spirit holds us together, but our lives also show the important of things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. The way we treat one another, and the attention we give to following Jesus ourselves, is important.
Loving like Jesus is hard to do, but it is one of the most important things that sets apart followers of Jesus. We need our spiritual families to learn it better, and those families need to listen to one another, listen to the Spirit, to learn how to do it better. This is discipleship.
What brings us together in the community of Christ is not our own perfection, but our following of Jesus. Of course, we are not Jesus, so we are not without mistakes. When we fail, it is the redemption of Jesus that also binds us together.
Condemnation is plentiful for religious leaders who use their position to exploit others. In the early church, while the full reality of Jesus was still being realized, this would have been an easy for smooth-talking charlatans capable of swaying others. Perhaps that is why mercy is emphasized for the doubters: in this landscape, it can sometimes be difficult to know who to follow.
Wholeness is God's design; following Jesus produces this. God is planning a new Heaven and a new earth in our future, the redemption of creation is his to produce. In the meantime, we are living in a preview of that Kingdom, bringing about the rule of Jesus in our present world.
God has judgement for those who claim his name but use that name for their own gain. These false teachers will be subject to the same fierce judgement that was recorded in the Old Testament for those who weren't believers, because of course, this is itself unbelief.
"He ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father." This is part of the Creed we recite, and today we commemorate that portion. Jesus ascended into Heaven, not to escape us, but to become our High Priest at the right hand of the Father, the position of favor. He remains our advocate and the member of the Trinity who knows our experience directly.
Humility is a characteristic of Christ himself, and Christian leaders must be careful that it is one of their own chief qualities. Using our own power is our first response when we're stressed, but Peter recommends instead that we also remember that God is our help, and turning to him in times of trouble is our best option.
The bit of Job today that says, "If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand?
Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people." This is an interesting idea to bridge both our Old and New Testament readings today, because indeed our goodness is not to flatter God, but to obey God and bring goodness to the humanity God has made.
Discipleship is an upside down world. We do not repay evil with evil, but we seek good as Jesus did, forgiving even those who crucified him. His model of suffering though innocent is a tough road to follow, but it it the thing that makes the path narrow.
The voluntary humility Christ showed is an important characteristic in followers of Christ. Peter uses it as a way that a believer married to an unbeliever might help them understand the way Jesus taught, in lessons that speak louder than words.
The foundation that has been built by Christ and forms our spiritual house makes the place where we continue building by love and obedience. We are building it too, because we are partners with God in the building of the Kingdom of Jesus.
Another letter for the Jews, the apostle Peter addressed those who were scattered by the many factors of the ancient world. Though they were separated, they were brought back together under the same promise of Jesus, the High Priest who unifies all of God's people.
The power that we have is not money, that is to be shared. It is not in oaths, because we have the bond of the Spirit. Our power is in prayer and coming into the throneroom of God, where our true power and identity lie.
For the Feast of Phillip and James, we are focusing in the book of John on a scene with Phillip, bringing other apostles to Jesus. This is basic apostolic work: to follow Jesus and help others do the same. This line of followers ends with Jesus, but it is still our responsibility to follow well.
What we say matters, and we can use our words to either build up or tear down. James isn't writing about the things that give us Salvation (that's God's work, not ours), but he's reminding the young church that the love they should show one another is important, and it plays out in many ways.
It's not the purpose of growing in faith to keep it to ourselves. The faith we have is for bringing wholeness to to the world and the lives of others. This is the life of the Kingdom of Jesus.
Working out the love that flows between God and his people, and also between the people themselves, can take some work. Some things that might flatter our own ego, like catering to the wealthy, work against the intention of the Kingdom of Jesus.
The book of James is sort of the Proverbs of the New Testament talking about a way to conduct ourselves. This isn't a new attempt to create a Law that brings back the old covenant, but rather shows us what lives transformed by Christ should look like.
The new priest and the new covenant are close fellowship with God, and God will not leave his people. There are leaders within the Kingdom, but Christ is our ultimate head and guide. The fruit of whole lives, helping others to live a whole life, is the abundant gift we are given from our Lord.
The priesthood of Christ seems to come now to something VERY sacred in the Jewish history books: the mountain of God. This was the place where God instituted his sovereignty, where Moses brought the Law to them. Now Jesus brings a new covenant, and a new Kingdom.
The Jewish audience had heard about the new High Priest, the new sacrifice, and the new temple. Now the writer of Hebrews brings it together: because Jesus fills the role of High Priest, we are sons and daughters, but this also means we are held accountable when we hold that honor. We have been made whole, and wholeness should be something we give to others.
Not to separate the new priesthood of Christ away from the tradition of the Jews, the writer of Hebrews now brings the narrative back to Jewish history, but with an emphasis on faith. This is not a reliance on the Law of old, but on the way of new believers and previous believers alike, united with a history of the faithful established by God.
The end result of this reframing of Jesus as both sacrifice and high priest is this: we have great hope in the future with a God who is near, and enduring persecution cannot remove us from him. This was important to the early church, and it remains our promise.
The sacrifice offered by the priest was also a central tenet of Jewish belief, and that comes to the forefront in this section. Not only is Christ's sacrifice the final sacrifice because it satisfies the full offering forever, it is also the dawn of a new covenant in the Sprit, where God's Word is written on our heart as his people.
Christ is the high priest and the fulfiller of the covenant, which was put into effect at his death. That death was also the final sacrifice which ended sin's bondage.
With Jesus as the High Priest, a re-imaginging of the temple is also necessary. The holy place where the high priest once entered required the transporting of the sacrificial blood as well, but Christ is both priest and the carrier of the sacrifice. We are freed by his sacrifice to enter the presence of God boldly.
Jesus is established as a high priest in an order that precedes Aaron, and his priesthood includes a new covenant that establishes a new fellowship with God. Through our connection to Christ, we are part of the work of that priesthood and heirs of his promise.
To trace Jesus as a priest in the order of Melchizedek is to connect him with more than the line of Abraham. The Abraham line establishes the Jewish people, but being a priest before that line existed makes the priesthood for all people. This was important because Jesus as a priest doesn't come away from the Jewish people to join the rest of the world, but he is part of a priesthood that already existed for the world.
The writer of Hebrews has covered Jesus's status as a high priest, but here we return, confirming the salvation that Jesus truly brings. His assurance is our motivation to love and serve the body of Christ, and imitating those already at work is how our faith is passed on.
A Jewish audience would have been very intrigued by this description of Jesus, their new high priest. Sacrifice and priest come together in him, and God's covenant is fulfilled in that sacrifice.
The writer of Hebrews brings another important factor in Jewish life into the discussion: Sabbath. Resting is an act of God, and it should be a time of true renewal. Making things new again is God's ultimate goal, and refreshing creation starts from a place of renewed people.
Once again for the benefit of the Jewish audience, the author of Hebrews brings important points to bear. This time, he talks about the Moses tradition and Jesus in comparison, who is greater than Moses and therefore the tradition Moses represents. This means that God has not rendered the Moses tradition as invalid, but that God has done a greater work to continue his own story.
Since Hebrews as written to a Jewish audience, the author is covering some pretty important pieces that relate directly to the Jewish experience: the humanit of God becoming man, Jesus joining the human experience, and becoming the high priest for all of us. A high priest was human, so it was critical that the audience understand that God had both fulfilled his promise in Jesus and charted a new future because Jesus is now Lord.
Jesus is not an angel, because he is higher than the angels. Jesus is the Son of God, and is God. If he were an angel or a man who was remade into a new being, he could not have been our Savior.
The reasons for the standard to which ministers are held is finally revealed: because these leaders will endure with their churches, working together through hard times. Paul seems to have hit a few of his own, having been abandoned and in need of friends who were far away.
There is a big difference between someone who is conforming their life to follow Jesus and someone who isn't. Paul seems to indicate that even when the example of Christ is before us, some will still follow their own way.
Reproducing ministry is more than just finding people who are willing to do the work, it also requires a standard to which those working can be held. Not because they are better than those to whom they minister, but because to represent Christ in his ministry is to act like Christ would act.
Perhaps one of the most important pieces of 2 Timothy 1 is the phrase, "What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus." This is a pretty good encapsulation of what religion should be in the Kingdom of Jesus: what came from Jesus, passed through the disciples, and continued being handed along through generations is that same pattern of sound teaching we pursue today. And of course, the working of the Spirit is part of that.
Paul seems to have concerns for his leaders' development, even about trivial things such as quarrels about the law and also more serious topics such as enslavement to passions. The end result is leaders who are willing to be set apart, who will model what citizens of Jesus's Kingdom look like in person.
God has ordered the universe, and so the Kingdom which Jesus established will also be ordered. This means the chaos humans a capable of creating should not be its defining quality, but a more thoughtful approach to how we behave.
How do you know the person that should be leading your church? Paul gave Titus one good way to find them: look to their families. Titus apparently lived among a people that were known for being craven, so a person with a family that didn't fall prey to that would have been an exceptional example.
Human tensions can cloud divine intentions. God has included the complicated and contentious human race in his plan, which certainly complicates the march of heavenly progress. And yet, we are still part of that plan, so learning ot live with one another in a way that honors God is critically important.
We need a spiritual family. We need spiritual parents who lead us, spiritual siblings who walk with us, and spiritual children that we mentor. This structure is what helps us hear from God and one another, and this is a healthy Body of Christ.
Paul is training Timothy as a pastor, and he was apparently quite young compared to many who entered into the vocation. Paul moves past this issue and encourages Timothy in the things which are more important than age, such as discipleship and godly living. This had to come first if it was to be taught to others.
Christ is risen! The promise of resurrection is for more than just the Son of God, it is for all of us. Jesus set the stage for the future that will be ours, and the future of our glorified bodies will be also fellowship with him.
The reality of Jesus dying is important, because resurrection is part of our own future. Jesus was the first to show what God has for the future, and that is also true of victory over death. The victory belongs to him, and we follow in his footsteps, just as we follow him in life.
The idea of this Friday being good seems ironic. It is the remembrance of Jesus's death, and on the surface it seems tragic, not good. But this is the work of God, the fulfillment of prophecy, and the victory over sin and death, which is certainly good news.
Today, we remember the day that Jesus ate his last meal with his disciples. There had no doubt been many before, but this one was significant: it included an invitation even to his betrayer. Eating with enemies is not our practice, but it seems to have been Jesus's.
Being part of the Kingdom of Jesus requires humility from all. Nobody is higher than anyone, and all are subject to Christ. this requires mutual respect, and Paul breaks that down to everyone -- even slaves and masters -- who wishes to follow Jesus.
Submitting to one another is an act that signifies humility. Husbands and wives practice this to honor one another, passing the love that has been given us by Christ. Practicing that love which is of Christ is part of following him.
Why all these rules for holy living? The conduct of the early church was certainly observed by those around them, because the world was watching as a new Kingdom unfolded. The way they composed themselves was a reflection of that new Kingdom, and God was growing it.
Paul continues giving the characteristics of a community governed by Christ, and they very much have the traits of Christ himself: being truthful with one another, but not pacifying one another. Unity, care for one another, and self-denial for the benefit of others. If we are the body of Christ, this is his DNA.
When we talk about the Body of Christ, this is what it looks like. We are unified to God through baptism (which is a recognition of work already done by the Spirit), and we are equipped for work to do the work which is God's. All parts are important, there are no kings in this Kingdom except Jesus.
The mystery of Christ has been revealed through the history of God with his people, the Jews. Now that Christ has come, that mystery has a life that lived among us to follow. That eternal purpose is now our purpose, and God continues his work through the Church and the Spirit.
Christ does more than bring together Jews and Gentiles he brings peace. Not only between people and other people, but between people and God. His humanity reconciles the fallenness of humanity and creates a new Kingdom of co-heirs with him.
The work of the Kingdom is God's, and we are participants with God in that work. It's easy to look at that work and try to make it our own, but it really is a partnership. We have been adopted into God's family despite being God's enemy, all of God's doing.
It must have been difficult to be Joseph, not just because he was the adopted father of the Son of God. The pregnancy Mary went through would have doubtless been a topic of gossip, and many probably thought him a fool for staying with her. But he did, and that kind of humility would be common in the son he raised throughout his life.
Predestination can be a tricky subject in today's culture, but there might be a few points we can agree on. We are sealed for all eternity as heirs with Christ, through whom we can call God our Father. He is our redeemer, and the work of God continues to bring all things to Himself, including us.
The practice of slavery was different in Paul's time than our view similar to the American approach, but slaves were still the bottom of the latter in the ancient hierarchy. Paul is appealing to the master of a slave not merely to free him, but also to call the slave his brother in Christ. This would have been a disruption to the social order, but such was the way Jesus made for us.
The work of a church is always a little business combined with spiritual matters, and sometimes those do overlap. Even from prison, Paul is concerned for both in relation to the Colossians.
Having laid out what we have walked away from in our following of Jesus, now Paul describes what we walk toward and in: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. And above all, love. These aren't goals in themselves, but become the fruit of our lives when the Spirit is present.
The Kingdom of Christ does not neutralize the things that make us unique. Paul's decree that there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, etc., does not mean a loss of cultural identity. It means that all of those things are caught up in Christ, and that everything is reframed in light of that. This is the same Paul who says he is "all things to all people," so he definitely doesn't think we need to all look alike!
The Kingdom of Jesus has been given a life to observe so as to know what God expects of us, and this is the Way we follow. He is also the power at work around us, working with the Father and the Spirit to bring the world back to wholeness. This is also the work we mimic.
Why was it such a big deal to tell the early churches he was doing on their behalf? Was Paul tooting his own horn? Maybe, but even more importantly, he wanted them to know that what they were part of was important. Living lives in Jesus was more than a new book of rules, it is a Kingdom that comes to life in the life of its citizens.
Walking in the Way of Jesus, aware of the Sprit, with a heart bent toward worshipping God: this is our part of life in the Kingdom. God is recreating all things, holding all things together in Jesus, until resurrection can fully restore the world.
In Romans 12, Paul talked about living sacrifices. Here again, he uses language that might have been familiar to those who knew the Jewish system of sacrifice: "a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God." This isn't the blood of animals, but the shared love between believers. It was money in this case, but there are certainly more ways that we can sacrifice for one another, living out the Way of Jesus.
Heavenly citizenship has earthly connections. Those who claim such a citizenship spur one another on to be more like Christ, as Paul unpacks here. The reward is already ours, and pressing on toward it is our daily work.
Sacrifice is taught to us by Jesus himself, and Paul models it in this verse. People who preach the gospel in order to defy Paul? That's a pretty twisted motive, but Paul's focus remains steadfast: if the Gospel is there, then he doesn't mind to be a casualty.
This community of which Paul is so fond is not together by accident, they're the body of Christ. The humility of Christ is their playbook, and the glory of God is their goal.
This inside look at the love shown between members of the early church is kind of inspiring. Sending people to care for others? Taking time away from your home to look after someone else? This is a vision of the true love Christ gave us to share with one another.
Paul opens the letter to the Philippians, a group of people for whom he clearly had great affection. He was writing from prison, but still expressing warmth and thankfulness for them.
Paul ends Romans with a list of specific members of the church of Rome, probably for a couple reasons. First, they really were dear to him. But also to establish his credibility to this church. He was asking for their help, and so here they had a list of people who knew Paul. "Oh, Priscilla! I know her! He must be okay, then."
Having harmonized the Jew and Gentiles under Christ, Paul now gives back a little of the Jewish identity. The promises of God have been carried through them, and they are made complete in Jesus.
Paul means to uproot the system of food purity laws from the Jewish way of life, but not destroy it. Instead, he reframes it. Instead of following rules to appear most holy, do so in a spirit of love between believers. Those who came from Jewish backgrounds would have more than food to think about with this, they would have a generous amount of food for thought as well!
The Kingdom of Jesus was established to be a people set apart, but not a nation in retreat from the world. This Kingdom is in the world, bringing something new and unusual to the world, but still paying taxes to their country and respect to their leaders. The love we have to show is given to us from our Savior, and that is our defining characteristic.
Today is leap day that extra day we get in the year, every four years. The Bible reading plan we follow doesn't account for this, so we have some readings about the Day of the Lord, and about God's faithfulness. Both go together. Christians have been looking for Christ's return pretty much since Christ ascended, but don't give up hope. We are his people in the present and future both, and the day of his return is sure to be something worth waiting for.
The measure of a faith expression is the kinds of people it produces. Paul gives a vivid picture of the kind of people he sees coming of this new faith in Jesus: loving enemies, serving one another in real love, and making sacrifices for each other. It's a wacky and upside down kind of approach, but that's what people thought of Jesus too.
Paul wishes to clarify that Jews have not been excluded from this new kingdom, despite their having been part of the first wave of God's plan. There could have certainly been some confusion about this, particularly because Christianity was originally a division of Judaism, but now that a new thing was happening, they were included too. Jews had also been kicked out of Rome, this was an important clarification to make.
Jew and non-Jew are both equally welcome in the Kingdom of Jesus, but how do we get there? Belief. God is doing most of the work, building the Kingdom and calling new citizens. Calling on the name of the Lord and following are our part.
Having resolved the issue of Jew and non-Jew as heirs of the Kingdom, Paul now discusses what determines that adoption: the will and sovreignty of God. This upends the approach of religious leaders who lord over others the need to follow the Law, because determination of who's "in" and who's "out" isn't theirs. God is God, and God determines his people.
Life in the spirit is more than just a new way to do things, it is a new attitude toward eternity. Eternal life is not something we have to wait for after death, it is a style of life that starts now. Because we are part of the eternal plan of an eternal God, our life is in his hands.
Having previously talked about the bond in Christ between Jews and Gentiles, Paul now talks about the life that both share: life in the Spirit. This is more than a connection based on heritage and culture, it is a new shared heritage and a new shared culture. Life in the Spirit redefines life now, and leads us in walking with God.
Paul unpacks the significant difference between the Law and life in the Spirit: the Law points to sin, but the Spirit brings freedom away from sin. The awareness to see those flaws in our lives is one of the works of the Spirit, and it is always the work of God to bring restoration.
If all are covered by grace and one in faith through Jesus, what is our part? To fully realized the life in the Spirit and walk in that way. This isn't rooted in the law, as if we had to carefully keep ourselves from condemnation. It is rooted in love and the life we have been given.
Moving on past the harmony between Jews and Gentiles, Paul now introduces a more critical idea: the undoing of the power of sin through Adam, courtesy of the righteousness of Christ. That power has always been part of the life of being human, but now Jesus has redefined humanity by bringing God into our world in the flesh.
Unifying his Jewish and non-Jewish audience further, Paul draws on Abraham: that circumcision (a tradition of the Jews) isn't their birthright, but faith is. Faith is something that everyone can have, and so the patriarch of the Jewish faith can be the father of all who believe in Jesus.
There was some pretty wild history between Jews and non-Jews from Paul's time in Rome. For a while, the Jews had been expelled from the city. If there were some returning now to be part of this new body of Christ, there were probably some leftover tensions. Paul aims to harmonize those two groups by pointing out that all are equal in the Kingdom of Jesus, and that faith is required of both Jews and non-Jews in equal parts.
Having opened talking about how worship keeps our mind in the way of God, Paul now turns again to those who consider themselves righteous, just in cast that list at the end of the last chapter makes us think we're okay as long as we're better than someone else: obvious sins are not the only thing that distances us from God, there is a lengthy list for those who consider themselves to be holy. Our justification is before God alone, and any effort of our own is failure.
As Paul opens Romans, he emphasizes the importance of worship, glorifying God. It's the thing that keeps our heart set on the things of God instead of our own way, pursuing paths of darkness when left to our own devices. God does not force us to do so, and our choice to worship him is our first step of faithfulness.
How do we determine those who should be in authority, in a Kingdom of Jesus that is about submitting to one another? Those who have wrestled with the reality of that Kingdom might be good choices. For Paul, that came in the form of physical struggle. For others, it may be working past easy answers to find the truth of Jesus's message.
Today starts the season of Lent, and Ash Wednesday is about the impact of our own sin and the cost of saving us that Christ paid on the cross, observed as Lent ends and Easter comes. We have a lesson from the king of Ninevah, who was not a Jew, demonstrating humility and repentance and leading his people to the same.
Paul seems to be knocking the legs out from under the bragging of
"super apostles" by being a littlle sarcastic. Of course, he did go through extensive troubles, but he's 'acting the fool' because making your troubles into a humble brag is distracting from the cause of Christ.
Paul must have gotten some criticism. Bolder in letters than in person? It seems that he wants to discourage the believers from getting tied up in the drama of personality and keep their focus on expanding the gospel.
Sharing resoources between churches in the region was a way that the early Church came together, and Paul used this to establish the personality of this new kind of organization. Not in obligation or under threat like the rule under the Romans, but in love to one another.
Taking care of the body of Christ sometimes has practical implications, including money. This was one way that early believers could learn to be that body. "The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”
Transforming pain is not easy. We tend to think of God's working as being all positive, because God does indeed work to make things whole. There are still times when our distance from God, a product of our sin, produces the opposite feeling. The sorrow we feel for our sins is the work of the Holy Spirit, and this is also God.
The oddness of the Christian faith is outlined in Paul's letter to the Corinthians. In his previous chapter, he talked about being reconciled to one another to be the body of Christ. Now he moves to this section, talking about the struggles that form the faithful and the need to transform that pain through the life we share.
Paul's vision is on eternal life, but that doesn't start at death. Eternal life is a style of life, focused on Christ, aware of his sacrifice, with a new point of view.
It's almost as if Paul realized that he might have drawn too wide a contrast between the death of the Law and the life of the new covenant, so he comes back again to the foundation of it all: Jesus. The closeness we share with Christ is what sustains us through troubles, and resurrects us at the end of days.
The difference between the Old and New Testaments is literally life and death. Where the function of the law is to point out our sin, which leads to death, the Spirt which moves through the new covenant brings life.
If Paul‘s last letter to the Corinthians was more about community, and he is definitely starting this one out with a strong emphasis on Christ. Of course, there was plenty of Jesus throughout the last letter, but he comes out of the gates, with a clear indication for this letter: it is all about Jesus, and he is the foundation.
The collection for the Lord's people, which might have been another example of Paul's other references to an offering for the Jerusalem church, shows how connected the early church was even in the first century. The Spirit was their bond of love, but the practical bonds of taking care of one another were also highly important.
Paul's vision of resurrection, continued from yesterday's portion of this passge, gives a little more detail about how he sees resurrection happening. Perhaps the Corinthians needed more details. Paul uses the analogy of a seed, because death brings about a new kind of life very different from the seed. Resurrection will certainly bring about a very different life, as we follow Jesus even to that.
Resurrection might seem like an idea too wild to build a faith on, but it is that very supernatural event that gives Christianity its unique flavor. Not only that Jesus rose from the dead, but that he did so as a preview of our own future. God came to bring us to where God is, and resurrection is the way in which we will all get there.
Having addressed the use of tongues in the first part of the chapter, Paul now turns to more definitive picture of what worship should look like: orderly, corporate, and done together. No grandstanding from its members, but a corporate approaching of God together.
Is it possible to be "too spiritual"? The point of worship is certainly to come to God, but we also have to go there together, when we are worshiping together. What the Corinthians were doing speaking in tongues almost seems to have been a competition (hence Paul's sort of sarcastic ending), but they are coming down to earth thanks to the Apostle.
The things that bind us together in the body of Christ now come down to the most important one: love. This passage, one of the most famous sections of the Bible, is often quoted at weddings. It's not just for couples. The spirit of love that is between couples should also be between members of the body of Christ.
This passage is almost whimsical, having body parts talk to one another and even insult one another. Paul's point is solid, though: the Spirit equips the Body of Christ for its work, and that work takes on many forms. Hopefully, they can learn to work in harmony.
A lot of the content of this passage from 1 Corinthians is cultural, but the spirit holds for us today: when we are thinking of life in the body of Christ, we should be working to unify that body. This may mean changing habits or personal preferences a bit, because the point of life in the body is Jesus and not ourselves.
Paul continues instructions that help the Corinthians live better in community, and building one another up seems to be the theme. Questions of faith aren't merely "what does it do for me" issues, but are weighed against the good of the body. If we are the body of Christ, this is how we keep that body healthy.
Paul lays the sacrifice he has made on behalf of the church out in public. It seems a bit like bragging, but he's making a point from earlier: boasting in his struggles. He is demonstrating the very submission that he encourages new followers of Christ to show one another.
The rules about eating almost seem to be Old Testament purity laws. Then Paul gives us a different reason for doing it: the unity of the body. This is the body of Christ, and encouraging one another is part of the life of that body. No longer are we responsible only for ourselves, we are part of something much more important.
Perhaps the part of this passage that we should pay the most attention to is, "Now for the matters you wrote about." Obviously, there is some struggle in the Corinthian church about what to do with marriage in this new Kingdom of Jesus, and Paul answers their questions. It's really unfortunate that we only have one side of this conversation, but the apostle keeps his focus on the love that Jesus gave us to share, living out in the Spirit, even in relationships.
The Kingdom of Jesus is not concerned only with the unseen, but also with the seen, Jesus was resurrected with his body, and so will we be also, following that pattern. So our bodies do matter, and what we do with them is important to God.
Judge one another within the church? That sounds a little harsh, doesn't it? But Paul has a valid point. The Kingdom of Jesus is supposed to be different, a place where we value one another differently than those outside the body of believers. Keeping one another mindful of what it looks like to follow Jesus can mean discipline, though it should still be administered in a spirt of love.
Paul works pretty fervently to remind the churches he has helped start that their real reward is Christ, not the distractions around them. They have a place in a Kingdom, and the person who brought them into the Kingdom isn't the place where their focus should be.
If the passage before was reorienting everything under the Lordship of Christ, this next part orients people all on even footing under that Lordship. Even popular leaders and preachers find themselves at the same place, the level ground at the foot of the cross, as the believer who has just come to faith.
If knowledge of God's ways come only though the Spirit, then truly nobody can brag about coming across some special inside track on knowing God. The Spirit moves among us as God wills it, we we don't own any part of God's mind as our own. It all remains God's, and we are participants in it.
Paul talks about unity in this passage, but that doesn’t mean you must always agree with everybody else whether you think they are crazy or not. What he is talking about is more connected to the identity of the church, where leadership comes from, especially in regards to Christ. On this point, there should be unity. We are all equal at the foot of the cross, and that includes Apollos and Paul.
While love should be shown to all in the body of Christ, that does not mean it's a free ride. A practical and necessary part of life in the body is making our own contributions. Not because we're buying God's love, but because we're passing that love along in practical ways.
The second coming of Christ has been the subject of a lot of speculation by many people. Even Paul himself thought that the second coming might be soon. The meat of this passage, though, is comfort. In the grand scheme, Christ is King. The savior we serve is more than just a nice guy, he is our strength.
Finding meaning in suffering is not always our first response. We might become depressed or despondent. Many believed that suffering was a sign of sin in the first century. Paul flips that idea on its head: God is with you in suffering, and this is going somewhere. God can use even this.
What distinguishes life in the church is what Paul encourages them to keep doing: showing love, caring for the less fortunate, and following the Spirit. The teachings of Jesus are central, but this is the way that life plays out.
There are a lot of perspectives on this verse about the afterlife, but this is the important kernel: the Kingdom inaugurated by Jesus on earth does not end here, it continues. Those who follow him aren't just building something here, they are part of a plan for eternity. This would have been a great comfort to those facing persecution in the first century, and should today as well.
There seems to be an order at work in this passage from Paul: God in the Holy Spirit moves in his people, the people, share what comes from God, and lives worth of God are the result. Not that we create our own salvation, but that our love for the one who has shown love to us is so great, it changes our normal responses.
The bond between believers in the early church must have been one of the primary reasons their numbers grew. Paul's warmth for the Thessalonians and the love they seem to show in return would have been magnetic. That's the fellowship that's possible when the Kingdom of Jesus is really being practiced.
Paul continues talking about the relationship he shares with the Thessalonians, and he doesn't claim all-star status. This is an apostle who models church life by paying his own way and serving the young church as one of them.
Paul seems pretty proud of the example of the Thessalonians. Their reputation has spread throughout the area, which was important in this early formation of the Church. The fledgeling movement needed good examples to look to, and this seems to be the people who filled that bill. The Thessalonians have corrected their theology (by turning away from false gods) and also achieved a high standard for showing love to one another. These would be the prime characteristics of the Church across the first century.
The passage from Jeremiah is a good setup today for the passage from Galatians: in the old covenant, Israel was responsible for bearing the image of God to the world, so disciplining them was a necessary part of preserving God's image. When Jesus came, the image of God came directly. The sacrifice that was once Israel's responsibility became God's own with Jesus.
The realization that Jesus was more than just a man is the beginning of the understanding of who Jesus fully is. With Epiphany, we see that Jesus brings something never before seen, and the meaning this has for the whole world is great.
Paul again talks about slavery to the Law, this time literally discussing circumcision. It's no minor thing, but it's also a clear indication that the letter of the Law is what guides its followers, not the freedom of Christ.
Paul, attempting to show the difference between the old and new testament covenants, now pulls the story of Abraham out to serve his purpose. The Jewish people took pride in being the children of the woman who wasn't the slave, but Paul says they are still slave-born if they are binding themselves to the old system of law.
Having established the tension that exists between the old and new way of doing things, Paul now talks about what that difference is: the ability of the Law to establish our separation from God, versus God's mending of that separation by way of Jesus. To live under the old rule is to remember how far we have fallen, but to follow Jesus is to come back.
For anyone who might think that the early church was all smiles and high fives, this passage certainly shows the tension of trying to create this new outpost of the Kingdom of Jesus on earth. Paul calls Peter out for his hypocrisy, pointing out the unequal treatment he has given to Jews and Gentiles. Trying to bring a new expression of faith out of Judaism without making it a copy of the original was not small task!
In Jewish tradition, a baby boy was named and circumcised eight days after his birth. This is one more reminder that Jesus was part of the same human rituals and traditions as other Jewish children, and that he was set on a human path. He did not exist outside our world, but he came to live and breath inside of it. This is the God we serve, who knows us so well.
The final chapter of Revelation is full of invitations: from Jesus himself, to enter the Kingdom. And from those in the Kingdom, an invitation for his return. There has been judgement and wrath, but the ending is still focused on the joy set before us.
You have to hand it to God: he makes some really incredible stuff. The city he shows to John is unmatchable by human efforts, made of enture jewels. Not a bad place to spend eternity, huh?
The work of God to make things whole and new again finds completion in the closing chapters of Revelation. A more complete and whole world is what God put into the minds of the prophets, and the reminder of John to keep at his work finds its purpose as the new Heaven and new earth begin to unfold.
Today we remember the slaughter of innocents ordered by Herod following the birth of Jesus. We also remember that God does not overlook such things, and that the care of the helpless is very much something that Jesus was attentive to. If we have seen Jesus, we have seen God, and we can trust our judge and Savior to set things right.
John seems somewhat special among the disciples, having received the Revelation and also holding the distinction of being the last of the disciples to die. While outliving your peers comes with its share of sorrow, we might be reminded that the beginning of Revelation was a reminder of the need for the prophetic voice, something John certainly had and which God needed him to keep exercising.
Remembering Stephen is a commemoration of many of the characteristics of the early Church. Stephen stood for Jesus to inaugurate a new Kingdom, one that was not understood by the religious authorites of the day. Not even the Jewish leaders that practiced the tradition from which Christianity came understood the carrying on of God's promise through Jesus. Stephen died for that cause, giving legitimacy to his message as a martyr.
Unto us a Son is born, and nothing will ever be the same again. God has fulfilled his promise to Israel, and we have seen God with the seeing of Jesus. No longer has God separated himself, but God has come in the Flesh to live among us. Jesus is born.
The wrath that unfolds in this chapter seems to reveal the true hearts of people: cursing God instead of blessing, refusing to repent. Of course, only God sees the true hearts of people, but circumstance has made them rise to the surface. Divisions are rising, and God is establishing his own people and those who are not God's.
As the judgment comes to an end, we are back to worship. It's like this was the objective that was always before us: worship must live and grow, and the wrath of judgement excises the poison that prohibits it. There is still a prophet standing on the hill, John the Revelator, who is being encouraged to keep doing his part, and reminded of the reason he was important.
It's an interesting perspective to think of the amount of times thunderous worship occurs in Revelation. We sometimes tend to think of it more like a book of horrors, and there is definitely some imagery to that effect. It isn't the whole character. There is also beauty and worship, and it this case it is a prelude to judgement. Of course, a just God must also enact justice, there is no one more fitting to do so.
Thomas sometimes gets a bad rap as "the doubter," but he did actually have to courage to ask questions that other disciples were probably thinking without voicing. We definitely need those people in our ranks: those who know our cause and believe in it, but still question us to help us stay sharp.
This sudden onslaught of otherworldly action movies might seem out of place in sequence with the previous chapters encouraging the prophets to keep doing their work, but perhaps this might be an explanation for its placement: if prophets work in isolation, then their work seems quite daunting. If prophets see their place in a timeless story that includes the very war in Heaven, then they have a greater sense of purpose. Perhaps that is the main crux of this section: to John the Revelator and his successors, you are part of something bigger. Don't give up.
The bitter scroll of the last chapter how takes a turn with the introduction of two witnesses. These are again the prophetic voices, interpreted by different groups in different ways through the years. The Holy Spirit is certainly at work regardless of their identity, and the task of prophet remains to continue working even in tough times.
A lot of symbolism is happening i today's passge unless you are a proponent of eating scrolls! Revelation is cerrtainly part prophecy, and John is reminded of his role in a long line of prophets chosen by God to imagine a better world for God's people. John, in eating the scroll, is recommissioned and reminded of the important role he plays.
When the worship of God is replaced with something else, God. responds to set it right. These visions have been attached to both events in the first two centuries and portrayed as the "end of all time" in many places, but whatever the correct placement, God is holy and he is setting the world right.
A loving God must also judge the earth, or he is not a just God. Only God is worthy of doing such a thing, and especially the Son, who has walked among us. This should provide us with some comfort if we're worried: the very man who touched lepers and held children on his lap is responsible for our fate.
Quite a crowd! The purpose of being near God is worshipping God, and the tone of Heaven is doing just that. The people of the promise, the tribes of Judah, remain central even in the grand worship of Heaven. Don't worry, though. Even those outside the Jewish nation have a place.
There are some pretty scary images in this passage, but it's interesting that all of the scary stuff is still subject to the Lamb. Death and war are not above him, but only get the power they say he does. That lamb is the Savior we can trust, because he is more thank just an good teacher.
The imagery of the Lordship of Jesus is pretty stirring here. The unfolding events of Revelation are only possible in the hands of one who is worthy, and Jesus is worthy only because of who Jesus is. His sacrifice is central to who he is, and he is still the Lamb.
The throne room of God is quite a spectacle in John's vision, certainly something to look forward to seeing. For a church that was being persecuted and more to come, this would be key: their God was indeed on the throne, and nothing could unseat him.
John's churches show differing levels of commitment, and he is not afraid to challeng them to be better. Of course, this is not just so they will be nice people. The Kingdom of Jesus is something they are already part of, and sharing in the glory of that King means loving him and walking the way he walked.
John continues through the churches in his region, giving them a glimpse of the future and the Kingdom they serve. As Christianity becomes more distinct from Judaism, it becomes more important to resist the easy path of doing things the way that the worshipers of other gods do, which probably would have made it easier to mix with the religious landscape. This is not the path Christians are to walk. Its strangeness is central, and to water down that message is to miss it entirely.
John begins Revelation with a few comments to churches in his area, encouraging them to hold to the faith they had been given and not water it down as the Nicolatians were doing. This included avoiding food sacrificed to idols, which had been addressed in previous books of the New Testament. The Kingdom of Jesus was to look different than their neighbors, and their strangeness was not to be lost as times became difficult.
Revelation can be a pretty hairy book, but here's something that's pretty poignant in this first chapter: it includes a victorious Jesus and the Church. Those are two things that will be persistent throughout, because that's reallly the dynamic that was put in place with th Kingdom of Jesus. There is no plan B.
It almost seems that Paul's exile is a tool for drawing an audience. He again has the opportunity to share the connection between the old and new covenants, connected by Jesus, with a group of Jewish leaders outside the influence of those trying to silence him. This becomes an occasion for the story of God's fulfilled promises to be proclaimed to those who had been part of that covenant.
Paul serves a God of wholeness, and that is on display when he is shipwrecked. All those with Paul are saved, the snakebite doesn't harm Paul, and the sick are healed. There are many ways to come into an understanding of the Gospel, but seeing that which is broken made whole isn't far from what Jesus did for our world.
Paul seems to be moving in the purposes of God, but he also doesn't seem to be able to bypass a good I-told-you-so moment. Nobody is perfect, even saints. Nonetheless, he is moving in a specific direction, toward Rome, where only God knows the purposes that he would take part in fulfilling.
A couple times, we've heard it mentioned that Paul could have been freed if he had not appealed to Caesar. Perhaps in this scene, we get an idea of why. He bluntly says that he wants Agrippa to believe as he does. Whatever seeds were being planted on that day, it does seem strategic by Paul.
The process against Paul isnt' exactly following the rules. The charges brought against him don't meet the criteria of a government trial, so Paul is stuck in the middle. It's an unusual place to be, and it must have been an extremely difficult period for Paul.
Paul languishing away seems to be a waste of one of the greatesst apostles, but his influence with Rome appears to be steady. He isn't thrown away as a common criminal, but remains connected to leadership. We will never know what came of it, but it's hard to imagine the influence of one so pivotal not bringing the foundation for the Church to come in the place from which it would later radiate.
If you find yourself concocting lies to win a case, you might be on the wrong side. Such was the case with the argument brought against Paul, whose rebuttal was to use the truth.
Andrew is a pretty interesting guy. He started as an apostle of John, then moved over to Jesus, and brought his brother along for the ride. His brother became one of the most recognized leaders in the early church. It all started with that invitation, though, and the course of Church history was forever changed.
Ecclesiasticus says that God will raise up the right leader for the right time, and Paul seems to be among some Roman leaders who are at least agreeable to keeping him alive. Rome was actually agreeable to multiple religions, and they were disagreeable to the disorder caused by trying to uproot the religion of another. Those factors were working together to keep Paul on the job, and the early church continued to grow.
Leave it to Paul to use the division of the Law against those who were causing division. The dispute between the Pharisees and the Sadducees was a pretty bold move, and it may have saved his neck a little longer.
Paul is facing an angry crowd, egged on by the teachers of the Law. He decided to try and tell the amazing story of his conversion, but it doesn't work. They remained livid. The gospel really is found in peace, because it belongs to the Prince of Peace. The fury of an angry crowd works against that prince.
Trying to resolve the differences between traditional Judaism and Christianity was extremely difficult, especially since the leaders of the early Church were largely Jewish. In this scene, to resolve problems with stories that were being circulated about Paul trying to tear down the Law (something he was not doing), the tradition of the Law was actually employed to bring Jews into better understanding.
Paul seems a little foolhardy with his life, and perhaps that is the case. It's for good reason, though. He has found a cause worth giving his life for, and that is his highest priority. What a difference from the man who once hunted those who followed Jesus.
Paul isn't selling Christianity as an easy life, but is clear about the trouble he has suffered and what he sees coming. The bond of love he shares with those who surround him remains strong. This is one of the hallmarks of Christianity: even in persecution, the Church remains strong. Persecution actually makes the Church stronger.
Paul almost killed someone with his preaching! Well, maybe not the preaching itself, but the length of time he spoke. It's really kind of comical, since the man did survive the experience. It's also a good reminder that someone as important as Paul wasn't perfect, and might have been... maybe a little boring at times.
Sometimes the argument you appear to be having isn't the argument you're actually having. Such was the case here: the makers of the statues of false gods were being put out of business as their gods were abandoned for the Way of Jesus, but they chose to try and make the case that it was their deity being dishonored instead of their business.
Those in the time of the early Church were hearing of Jesus, now they were seeing evidence of his lordship. It wasn't just a story, things happened when his name was mentioned. This is a preview of the world to come, where Jesus will reign, and we inaugurate it with every opportunity we have.
The doctrine matters. The baptism of John wasn't enough, because it came before the sacrifice of Jesus. Knowing of the Holy Spirit was critical, because now we understand how God remains among his people. This is what Paul brought to the early believers, and it is no less important today.
What would have happened if Paul hadn't gotten fed up with the attitudes of Jews toward the Gospel? At the time, for a former Pharisee, that was probably tragic. His hope must have been that the Jewish people would come to know the whole truth, but his turn toward a more Gentile ministry helped greatly build the church we know today.
Paul is invited to the meeting of those who "spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas" and he certainly brought them a new idea worth hearing. His approach met them where they were, and even used their own ideas. Not a bad idea. The gospel is a challenge, but there is always a starting point for new understanding.
The message of the Gospel isn't all feelings and opinions, it can also hold up under scrutiny. Several times, Paul finds himself among intellectuals, and he makes an intellectual argument to them. The result is an expanding church. This isn't the only method at our disposal, but the Gospel is moving among many different kinds of people thanks to the work of the Spirit.
There is a real sense in these passages that the Spirit is moving Paul and his partners intentionally. They are not roaming the streets shouting and preaching, but the movement is intentional. The Spirit goes with them and before them, because this growth of the Church is the work of God among his people, and not only the people.
There was no single way of doing things other than following Jesus in the early church. The rule of circumcision was debated against the Jews, but Paul circumcised Timothy so he could lead Jewish believers. Arguments happened between Christians and non-Christians, but also between leaders like Paul and Barnabas. Still, perhaps Paul would never have found Timothy if he and Barnabas had never parted ways.
Growing the Kingdom isn't just about letters (which formed the New Testament), but also about sending people. Letters alone would have served as instruction, but sending a person has a different effect: to teach the value of the relationships that are vital for the growing Church.
It's hard to let go of something familiar, even if it's not the thing that's best. That's what was happening with Jewish evangelists who contradicted the message of the apostles by telling them that they needed to follow old Jewish rituals to be believers. Their error is easy for us to see, but perhaps not so much for those who were trying to figure out how a religion started by a Jewish rabbi fit without being totally Jewish. Being a member of the early Church wasn't easy!
This episode of Paul and Barnabas's ministy includes the "shaking the dust of their feet" piece. This is a phrase that often means something like, "give up on someone," perhaps someone who has been unreceptive to the gospel. It was also a ritual that Jewish people used to show that they were separated from Gentiles, so the using of the action to show digust with Jewish leaders might have been specifically for them. Those who sought to weaponize religion wielded their influence in that city, and Paul and Barnabas recognized the limits of their abilities, and the need to find more receptive ears.
It's quite a leap to go from looking like gods to being stoned. Of course, Paul probably preferred the stoning, as he would never have wanted to claim godhood. What was the thing that made the difference? A group of religious people who turned the crowd against him. That attitude is the polar opposite of Paul's, and we should take a note that using religion as a way to punish our enemies is not the mind of Christ.
Getting the word out about Jesus and what his coming meant in God's plan was quite a task. The people of God, building on centuries of tradition, had a new reality: Jesus fulfilled the promises God made to them, and now there was a new Kingdom to live in, one that included others. Paul's background in Judaism made him especially adept in spreading this message, and this is the work he set himself to.
It's interesting that Paul, whose conversion experience included being struck blind, now inflicts blindness on someone else. Perhaps he thought that it might produce the same result? Whatever the case, it seems that the blindness was equated with spiritual things in Paul's mind, and he uses it as a tool to stop the perversion of the ways of the Lord.
Why did God allow some of the apostles to be executed and other to be miraculously saved? That's an answer only God can give, and that's a plan that none of us could improve upon. The church is growing, sometimes by those who are willing to die for its cause, and sometimes through the actions of those who remain. Both play a critical role.
The Church is finding its identity by spreading, but remaining connected by the Spirit. This was a new thing, because the working of the Spirit defined the life of this new body. It must have been a wild time, and somewhat uncertain. Building something new is never without challenges, even when that new thing has the hand of God upon it.
God is making the Church in the way that only God could have done it. Adding new kinds of people who were previously outside the chosen, bringing them together with the children of Abraham, making a harmony of different pieces that would endure. It isn't the way any of the apostles would have done it, but it was the way that was needed.
Peter follows through on the directive he had been given, and how strange that must have felt. The laws he had followed all his life were no longer the policy of the Kingdom of Jesus, because the purpose those laws served found fulfillment in the person of Jesus.
God is opening his Church to more than the Jews, but Peter and the other Church leaders aren't being pushed aside. This movement includes men, and Peter is at the top of the list. This is how God builds the Church, sometimes with the people we don't think belong.
The spreading of the Kingdom with Jesus brought is about bringing wholeness, and this is what Peter brings in this passage. This wasn't parlor tricks, but raising the dead (and of course, not every dead person was raised) served the purpose of more than just seeing friends again, it also grew the Kingdom.
It's odd who God picks to be his workers sometimes. Paul was the chief adversary of the movement of Christianity, and yet he became one of its most important advocates. The potential he had and the conversion he underwent could have only been realized by the work of God.
Today we remember those who have come before us to pass along the faith that we have today, and we remember that God has made us partners in his plan. Like the long list of believers in Hebrews (and the Ethiopian in Acts), we stand in a long line of witnesses who keep building the Kingdom that is both now and not yet.
Kind of a cool pairing of Old and New Testament Scriptures. In Chronicles, we see one half of the Kingdom carrying off their kinsmen to Samaria, being rebuked by a prophet, and turning around. In the New Testament, we see the gospel which came from that conquered kingdom being brought to Samaria and repentance (turning around?) becoming the result. While a lot of the northern kingdom had been scattered, the Lord had not abandoned the place of his promise. The promise had been fulfilled.
A sermon that ends with the public execution of the preacher is a little wild. The religious leaders who had arranged the killing of Jesus did not want his message or his followers continuing. As difficult as this situation was, it actually helped grow the church: as the followers of Jesus dispersed, they took the message to the other parts of the world.
The deacon Stephen, preaching to try and win over the Jews who (tragically) are heading to kill him, pulls out a portion of Jewish history that seems to point to the futility of violence as a tool of serving the Lord. Of course, it was violence that ended Jesus's ministry with a cross, and it would soon end Stephen's as well. Maybe he was onto something important.
Today is the Feast of the apostles Simon (the Zealot) and Jude, two men about whom we know almost nothing. The quote attributed to Jude asking why Jesus was showing himself to the apostles and not the whole world is short, but fitting: Jesus made the first church of these apostles, and that includes the almost-nobodies who were walking with Jesus but didn't make it into much of the story.
Gamaliel (who may have been the same Gamaliel that taught a young Paul the apostle) has a pretty good acid test for Christianity: see if it lasts after the death of its leader. The argument is effective. His words, telling that those who oppose Peter and the apostles are opposing God, speak true. If we are following the same path, we have the same connection to our God and protector.
Why did Ananias and Sapphira have to... die? That seems like a pretty radical punishment for stiffing the tithe. Only God knows the answer to that question fully, but the Church is at a critical time. The body of Christ on earth is being established, and its foundation needed to be strong. It wasn't that God needed the money, but perhaps it was that the Church didn't need pretend disciples.
Standing up to the powers is always a risk, but Peter and John knew the real power. What they had seen and knew was was carried them on, telling about that experience to those around them. Even though they were "unschooled," they were still standing at an important place in history, bringing together the early days of the Church.
Peter isn’t pulling any punches with his Jewish audience, he definitely wants them to understand the implications of the death of Jesus. But of course, the death of Jesus is more than just an unfair ruling against an innocent man. He lets them off the hook with ignorance, but the decision is now theirs as to what to do next.
With James, we remember a family member of Jesus who is not recorded as having accepted the divinity of Christ until after the ascencion. Even the slow of heart such as him are still part of the Kingdom, and James is remembered fondly by the Church.
The Holy Spirit shows up at Pentecost and enables languages to spread the Gospel across many nations, including many who were able to hear it on the spot. This is a reversal of the Tower of Babel, where God confused the language of men to separate them. Now God brings the nations back together, under the banner of the new Kingdom of Jesus, to restore the world back to himself.
It must have been a wild time to be an Apostle. Judas gone, Jesus ascended, and now the ragtag band of misfits is choosing someone to take Judas's place. There was certainly a larger group of people who had followed Jesus, but many of them had abandoned him. It's good to see that Matthias and Justus stuck around, but perhaps there might have been a few more extras beside.
The transition between Jesus walking the earth and the Spirit coming to the Church is huge. Jesus had come to show us what God looked like, now it was time for the church to put that into action. As Jesus disappears, it's more than him going to be with the Father. It's the enfolding of the church in the life of the Trinity.
The selfishness of Diotrephes stands out in this passage, and what a legacy. Written in the Bible as someone who put themself before others. Sincerity of love is the antidote, and perhaps we will be remembered better.
Remembering authors like Luke and reading what they wrote, it's kind of fun to think of the way things must have been for the young church in the first century. While it must have been exciting to be part of the Church as it was getting started, it was also a time for wild variations on the original story. Authors like Luke, who was an associate of Paul, set about giving fellow believers a reliable account that was free of the flights of fancy that many attached to it.
We shouldn't think that the struggle we have is one we face alone. In addition to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we also have Christ himself. While this isn't a forcefield that keeps things from happening to us, it is a loving embrace from our creator, who stays by our side in suffering.
Again, John talks about how love defines followers of Jesus. Today, he also contrasts that with fear. Fear is the quality of those who are unsure of their future, unable to come to terms with their present, and unclear about that which makes them secure. Jesus promised all of those to us in his Kingdom and the heritage we are included in with his sacrifice. Knowing that, perfect love (his) is vital to driving out fear.
"We are from God" is the new identity given to residents of the Kingdom of Jesus. Being from God puts us directly in the Spirit of love that is God, and this becomes ours to share. It's transformative. It also gives us a kinship with other believers, which should play out as sharing one another's burdens and caring for our brothers and sisters particularly.
When John talks about the determination of Jesus followers by their action, we are not in a discussion of purity laws. That would be no different from the law of the Old Testament. Instead, we are determining how to see Jesus by seeing his followers. Those who take on new characteristics because of that transformation do more than show themselves, they also show him.
There is an order in spirituality: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one. If we are part of the body of Christ and people of the Spirit, we are caught up in that mystery. Once we are there, we practice the same listening that Jesus did when he talked to the Father. If we learn that discipline, we will learn what life in the Kingdom of Jesus can really be like.
Walking in the light does not mean we are without sin. So what's the point of being a follower of Jesus? By definition, following. We put ourselves in God's hands, putting out faith in the future in the hands of our Savior, who has walked the same planet we do.
Those who divide the body of Christ are the main focus of the letter of Jude. This division comes in many ways, but all of them turn a person to their own desires instead of serving the body of Christ. Our objective should instead be, "keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life."
Much is made of the end of the world theme in 2 Peter 3, and of course the return of Jesus is not to be bypassed. According to scholar NT Wright, the context was that a generation of Christians was passing away without a returning of Christ, which many did think would happen in their lifetime. Despite that, the future of a new Heaven and new earth remains, and a just and righteous God remains the judge and pardoner of all as He chooses.
It is tempting to claim to be a representative of God to easily claim authority. That arrogance and self-centered grab for power is not characteristic of those appointed by God to lead, and those very actions show them for who they really are.
Prophets speak for God, but they should never be substituted FOR God. The purpose of being part of the Kingdom of Jesus is transformation, becoming more like him until resurrection makes us very much like him. This should be our focus, not idolizing our favorite speakers.
The upside-down nature of the Kingdom of Jesus comes out in this passage from one of his apostles: submitting to one another in love, holding together the body of Christ to stand against the true adversary. Being sober of mind allows us to see the world for what it is, and also keep the proper perspective on our own suffering.
The call of "the end is near" is normally a cry of fear, but not in Peter's letter. The response to the end of all things is not to hole up in a bunker, but to show compassion and mercy on others. This is the opposite of our inclination to hoard for ourselves and keep others from getting what we have, but an open hand is the path of Jesus.
Following Jesus isn't a method of being seen as a better person, but as a method of finding ourselves closer to the heart of God. If we find ourselves there, our perspective is changed: our identity is in Christ, and our fear is handed over to him. In the absence of fear, suffering and abuse are pale shadows next to the adoption we find ourselves in to God our Father.
We are sometimes called to take a difficult path when we are following Jesus. Sometimes that means a hard stand against our own impulses, sometimes it means remaining in difficult situations for the good of those around us. We are the visage of Jesus among others, and that takes many forms.
Peter is giving a call similar to the one Jesus gave when he said anyone who didn't have the faith of a child could not enter Heaven. It's not a call to being simple-minded (and if you know a few children, they are probably anything but) but rather simple-hearted: craving the presence and attention of our Father, eager to grow under his guidance.
Peter, like James, is writing to Jews scattered among the nations. This was probably an important step when trying to unify the church across borders. He works like James did, pulling together the pieces of the old faith with the harmony of the new, the fulfillment of God's work that had started with the people of the promise.
This new community, grounded in faith and the movement of the Holy Spirit, works in a different way. The rich do not hoard for themselves, but care for their brothers and sisters. With patience, the community comes together to create wholeness and healing. James has come a long way from explaining the departure from the Law, and now he lays out more fully what happens in the law of love.
Behavior that mimics our Savior is for more than good looks, it is for the creation of a harmonious community. We are not only submitting ourselves to God, but also to one another. This is a state of heart that comes much harder if we are focused on what we want for ourselves.
James continues his discourse on aligning our behaviour to Kingdom ideals by talking about our speech. Especially in a time where so much anger and careless speech flows freely, we can understand this vividly. The expectation has not changed: following Jesus goes a different direction that our impulse to anger and self-promotion.
The divide between faith and works was no small hill to climb for the Jews of James' time. Purity was wrapped up in works, but it was important that they not completely discard the expression of their faith through behavior. While the motivation was no longer to fulfill the requirements of the "don't do this" list, it was still important to remember that things like loving your neighbor, loving your God, and showing compassion are always on the "do this" list.
James (thought by many scholars to be the brother of Jesus) further develops the idea for his Jewish audience of the difference in the Law of Moses and the law that "gives freedom." The Law of Moses convicts, as does the law of the Kingdom of Jesus. The difference is, following Jesus leads to the mercy shown by Jesus.
James is writing to a Jewish audience, perhaps trying to resolve the disconnect between their tradition of following the law and this new Christian faith that puts so much emphasis on faith. James founds his opening in the importance of faith, but, spoiler: he certainly isn't leaving it there.
The model of the old testament is transposed onto the new. Where before there was an animal destroyed outside the city, now our Savior was killed and wasted outside Jerusalem. Our sacrifice is our praise, and the priest eating the meat of the sacrificed animal is now us communing together to eat the communion of his death. Jesus fulfilled that which was incomplete, but the rhythm of the old way remains familiar.
The writer of Hebrews introduces another critical topic for the readers: the mountain of God. This starts from Exodus, where God met Moses there, where God's presence inhabited that space in a way that was visible to the people. Now there is a new mountain, though it isn't visible to the people. It is God himself, and Jesus sitting at his right hand as our Savior.
We do indeed have an ally in Heaven because our High Priest is there, but children of God are subject to learn a different perspective. Discipline and endurance are part of our transformation into followers of Jesus, and our view of suffering can be changed in light of the working of the Spirit.
What is being written to the Hebrew audience is bringing together the old covenant and the new: the faith that Jesus introduced has been part of the story all along, as has the quality of Kingdom citizens. To live in this new Kingdom is a matter of faith, and that faith is familiar to the people God has called his own even in the past.
As we remember today the tax collector who became an apostle of Jesus, we can take a note from his first event as an apostle: throwing a party filled with the wrong kind of people. And yet, Jesus came. The guest list wasn't who the religious leaders would have chosen, but it certainly seems to be exactly the people Jesus wanted to hang out with.
Not only do we have a high priest in Jesus who is seated at the right hand of the Father, but we also have a sacrifice for sins that is eternal. To the Jewish audience who received this letter, this would be a pretty big deal. The regular offering of sacrifices would have been familiar, and to say that those sacrifices were at an end was significant. It changed the way the people understood their relationship with God, which is correct given Jesus's new Kingdom ways.
The sacrifice made by Jesus on the cross is more than a one-time special event, it is the fulfillment of the previews shown through the centuries that came before him. The high priest operating in tents and even permanent buildings is a shadow compared to our High Priest, the Son of God, who resides permanently in the true court of God.
It's kind of conventient that we get a passage about the first temple with this passage from Hebrews about the new one today. The two periods of God's history with God's people are definitely conneected: even in all of its grandeur, all of the glory that Solomon brought to the temple was still just a shadow next to the new Kingdom of Jesus and our eternal high priest.
What has come before in Hebrews leads to this: who Jesus is, what he did, and who he continues to be is the culmination of our high priest. Seated at the right hand of the Father, God made man, who knows our struggle because it has been his own.
It seems that the writer of Hebrews wishes to fully remove the way of Jesus from the way of the Law, so there are some pretty serious Old Testament throwbacks here: not only pointing out that Jesus was from a family that was outside the traditional Jewish priestly race, but calling Jesus a priest of the order before a priestly race even existed. Pretty strong case. Of course, Jesus is also the Son of God, a part of the Trinity, our Lord.
We are not brought into the Kingdom of Jesus to continue conducting business as we did before. With the Spirit as our guide, we are changed. Otherwise, we are "land producing thorns and thistles" and the Kingdom cannot grow.
Both high priest and sacrifice: that is Jesus's unique idendity. What he did, nobody else could do. What he continues to do, only God can do. As we remember the way in which he died today, let us also remember that it was God's plan, playing out in exactly the way God ordained it.
Interesting that, right after a section on Jesus, the writer of Hebrews turns to talk about Sabbath rest. (Spoiler: the next passage goes BACK to talking about Jesus!) Since the writer has also been comparing and contrasting the law and the new covenant, could be be that Jesus is our rest, that through the Spirit we are seen fully, more than keeping the Law could ever expose? It's not about avoiding work, it's about resting in the completed work of our Lord.
The writer of Hebrews, addressing a mostly Jewish audience, has talked about who Jesus is. Now the message shifts to what Jesus is doing: as a high priest, he supercedes Moses and the law. The house that God started building with Moses, Jesus is now Lord over. This is where we live as believers, and the Spirit is among us to continue the work in and with us.
The writer of Hebrews continues fleshing out our Christology: now we establish that Jesus became like us, but was not always like us. This makes Jesus both our high priest and the highest offering. In fitting with God's plan of redemption, this is important: it was always God doing the work.
Jesus was not an angel, he was God. He was God become man, but he was still God. An angel would not have been the proper way to God, only God is the way to God. To see Jesus is to see God, and he remains God today. He always has been. This is a heavy helping of Christology, but what we believe about Jesus matters: if Jesus was not God, then all his teaching and sacrifice is in vain.
The discipline of submitting to one another goes beyond husbands and wives, as we read yesterday. It also goes among children and parents, slaves to masters, and masters to slaves. This new way of thinking that Paul rolls out, inspired by the Spirit, is a radical step backward for those who want to follow Jesus.
Much has been made about the submitting Paul is discussing, and trying to figure out who should submit to whom is the wrong approach. If wives submit to husbands but husbands take their cues from Christ himself, then Christ models going first and submitting himself. Laying aside his crown, walking among us, and walking the road to the cross is some pretty heavy submission.
Faith was never intended to be a private gift that we keep to ourselves. The citizens of Jesus' Kingdom have different qualities, an essential trait if we are to show what life in that Kingdom is like and might be like.
Having found ourselves in the fortunate place of the Kingdom of Jesus, our order of business is to conduct ourselves as citizens of that Kingdom. Forgiveness and love are the hallmarks of that place, and perhaps those two are difficult enough to be the whole list of objectives. They aren't an end in themselves, though. We are aiming for new selves, a preview of the newness that will come with sharing the resurrection of Christ.
Holding together any group of people for any length of time can prove diffiucult. How is this done in the Church? Hopefully, this passge by Paul is that method: unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, equipped by our Lord for the work that is is his own.
Paul certainly has a sense of purpose, not only for being one of God's people, but for the plans and purposes of God playing out at just the right time. The way God was understood when Jesus came, because now we know that Jesus is how God looks. Paul was one of many who had to change their view of God.
What brings the Church together is nothing of human doing, it is all God. Circumcision is no longer the covenant sign between us and the eternal, but is Jesus himself, the eternal embodied.
The initiative of our salvation comes from God: showing mercy sending the Son, making the way to the Father through his death, seated with Christ because of what he did. None of that was our work, it was all God's, because setting things right is what God is about.
Paul finishes his view of who Christ is: not only our example, not only the Son of God through whom we claim our inheritance, but also the fiber that holds all things together. This is more than a man who came to earth and preached sermons: it is who God is, and what God looks like.
Paul considers Christ more than the life that walked on earth to show us what God is like, he is also the one who seals us as God's children. The heirship of the Son of God is ours as well, because it is his redemption that set us right with God.
Philemon had a fair claim over Onesimus, and probably wasn't a bad master. Paul seems to have confidence in him as a believer. However, Paul isn't asking Philemon to do something within his rights, but to consider Onesimus as a fellow brother. This would have been somewhat radical, and would have required a sacrifice on the part of the owner. We don't have an answer from Philemon to Paul's challenge, but if Paul was a good judge of character, then Philemon may have indeed made good on this.
Paul is casting a vision of a different kind of community, bringing masters and slaves closer to equality. (More about that tomorrow!) He also paints, with this list of names, a picture of how that community was already working: Luke, who wrote; Epaphras, the prayer warrior; Nympha, a woman who hosted a house church. The Spirit was at work to do more than just eat bread together.
Paul has spoken about what to avoid, now he comes back to the things that should be added: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. That's a good start, anyway. If we are citizens of the Kingdom of the Prince of Peace, then imitating him is what we work at making second nature.
Paul has talked about departing the union of the Law, now he comes back to the union that exists in its place: Christ. In Christ, there is no racial or national division, all are brought together under that new reality. It the Kingdom of Jesus, unity brings about shared lives that set aside a scheming plan to get everything for yourself and is replaced with love of neighbor.
Paul is making some pretty radial statements for someone who used to tow the line as a Pharisee. Upending the rigid rules surrounding festivals and Sabbaths in lieu of the better future in Christ is truly an indication of where Paul has come. If Christ is the King of Kings, the ruler over every authority, then anything else really is a shadow.
Paul places the church at an interesting intersection: the mystery that is Christ has been hidden for ages, but now becomes revealed to this people. That's pretty exciting. Not only is Christ with his people, the Spirit moving them; also the hope of glory has come.
Bartholomew is an apostle about whom very little is known. Some traditions say that he carried the Gospel to India, but that is not documented in the Bible. Perhaps many of us might actually take a little joy in his mostly unknown story: even those of us who may not be all-stars like Peter and Paul still have a place in God's story.
Paul closes with a call to peace and harmony, also acknowledging how difficult that can be. Taking care of one another, from practical needs to the finer points of forgiveness, is one of the defining characteristics of life in the Kingdom of Jesus, and should define us as well.
"We are the circumcision." Paul is talking about belonging here. The Jewish people circumcised their infants to show that they were part of their community, but now there is a new way of doing things. Christ has formed his community to belong to one another, and the Spirit that bonds it together is stronger than any mark of the flesh.
Paul, writing from prison, continue some pretty specific admonition for the church in Philippi. Pastors like Timothy and caregivers like Epaphroditus were critical to Paul's mission and had connections to the young church which would have probably felt like family. We all need people like that: spiritual sons and daughter, fathers and mothers.
We worship Jesus, and we seek to be more like him. This gives us an insight into loving others that is unique. It also brings us closer to the heart of God, which is another point of worship.
It takes a special kind of faith to remain faithful in hard times, and that defines Paul. This book of the Bible was a prison letter written by the apostle after haing been arrested, and his faith in God to keep the church alive and well is obvious. Even more than that, Paul is willing to offer himself up to advance the Gospel if necessary.
Short passage from Philippians today, but there's a really important theological nugget right in front of us: God is at work. If God is at work, we can always be confident that the work is good, and that it will complete in God's time. We, like Paul, can look beyond our immediate circumstances to the bigger picture of what our Lord is doing.
Paul has been working in ideas, but now he works with real people. In the closing of this letter, we see Jews, Greeks, and Romans who made up the early church. Women and men. The Kingdom of Jesus was formed of all types, and that remains true today.
This little section of Romans establishes one thing: Paul has not been to the Roman church. This makes the letter to the Romans pretty unique, because it is written to a group of people he had not met before, to a church that he did not start. (They were not all strangers, no doubt he knew someone in the church, because the letter had to go to someone.) This is a good indication of the growth of the early church: they were at least connected enough to have some familiarity with believers outside their own city.
Bound together in Christ: that is what the Kingdom is. As the Old Testament scripture finds fulfillment in him, so does the love shown among his people.
Paul has been building the picture of the body of Christ, diverse in all its parts. Now he talks about grace. Having a little patience and allowing difference in practice was perhaps best summed up in a quote that has been attributed to several theologians: "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity." Whoever said this definitely had Paul's vision in mind.
When Paul talks about the new Kingdom under Jesus, he doesn't talk about one that exists outside the current world. The people of the Spirit are in the world, bringing Jesus into the places where they are, not outside that system. Given that angle, we are still subject to worldly rulers and expected to do things like pay taxes.
Paul has spent a lot of Romans talking about how to bring together believers from different backgrounds (such as Jew and non-Jew), and now he turns to unify those believers in a single purpose: to form the body of Christ. Serving one another and showing love is not a rule, but a way of life. There is room for grace, and the Spirit is our guide.
Paul keeps drawing the unifying trait that brings Jews and Gentiles together in the Kingdom of Jesus, and here he seems to be a little playful, talking about how God made the Jews jealous by including the Gentiles. That may have actually been a sensitive topic in Rome, where Jews and Gentiles made up the church together. Whatever the tone, the end result is the same: God makes his church from all peoples.
"Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes." This passage lands right on the fusion of the two testaments of the Bible. What the law did in the old, Jesus completes and continues in the new. Now there is new life through the creator and give of life itself.
Paul is using a lot of Biblical connections in this passage, but central to the theme is the sovereignty of God in making his people, without regard to birthright. What God started with a promise to Abraham, he made complete with Jesus. Faith is the key, and Jesus is the way.
How far does the Kingdom of Jesus go? Through all things, redeeming all creation. His resurrection is an early preview of our own future, but the world will go with us. In the end, God will make all things new as Jesus was made new. Nothing can separate us from this promise if we are part of that Kingdom.
What does life in the Spirit do? More than just give us a great place to spend eternity. In the here and now, life in the Spirit is the Kingdom of Christ on earth as it is in heaven. This is what Paul works out for Christians in Rome who might have been struggling with their theology.
Jesus's transfiguration was symbolic. Meeting with Elijah and Moses, he came together with the historic figures for the law and the prophets. With their departure and Jesus being left alone, the law and prophets have not dissolved. Both are still an important part of God's story. In the Kingdom of Jesus, both have found fulfillment in him.
Since Paul has spent the last few chapters upending the Jewish view of law and obedience, he needs to connect obedience back to life in Christ. Not that we have been give a free pass to do what we want, but that living in Christ is living LIKE Christ. Of course, none of us can be fully like Christ until the resurrection, but in the meantime, it is our job to bring that Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
There's some pretty great theology in this passage, and actually pretty simple. Maybe a good way to sum it up might be, "If the best the law had to offer us was a way to to correct the path of Adam, then the best Jesus has to offer us is the news that it's not longer about the path, it's about him." Being slaves to sin was something God always meant to free us from, and the law was the first step, but never the final one. When the time was right, God enacted the upgrade: the Word made flesh, the life of the Spirit.
Paul continues to equalize Jewish and non-Jewish believers by remind them what Abraham, the great patriarch, had as his distinguishing trait. It was, of course, his faith. That is what made Abraham great, and would also be the common factor among all who follow Christ.
It must have been difficult in the early days of the Church. Jesus was a Jew, the early church started from a group of Jews, but Christianity was a very different thing. Paul was also a Jew, and a well-read scholar. In helping the early church understand what the role of Jews and non-Jews was, he somewhat cuts to the chase: God made the Jews the people of the promise that is fulfilled in Jesus. Now, with Jesus as the head of the church, we are all part of the fulfillment of the old promise and the hope of the new one.
Paul opened by talking a bit about the wrath of God, but now he defines the people of God. It is not an outward mark or a birthright that makes a Christian, but rather a state of the heart. Our identity is in Christ, and so is our future.
It's sometimes difficult to reckon with the wrath of God, because we so often think of God as love. God is a God of love, but wrath is also one of God's qualities. The love God shows for his people is complete only if he cares for them, and preserves them. Wrath is the measure of preservation that turns against those who turn against his people.
The gifts of the Spirit are intended to create a single body, the Church. This is where God brings gifts together and continues to move among his people. There is no hierarchy in these gifts (the "higher gifts" are those that most directly bring honor to God and not the gift holder, remember that he spent a LOT of time talking about humility), and love is what really binds the body together, in appreciation for the gifting of all.
Yesterday, we dove into Paul's ridiculous notion that weakness is a strength, and today he doubles down. He does take a moment to tout the accomplishments of another, then returns to his "foolishness," coming back to say that God even purposely gave him weakness so that Christ's power could rest on him.
What does Paul brag about? He flips the "boasting in the way the world does" by boasting about the things that make him appear weak, in order that the power of Christ might show even more. This flew in the face of the bragging of his day, and very few of us today would probably lower ourselves in the same way.
Humility is a quality Jesus held which we should try to copy. Paul was an alll-star in his time, but he was slow to toot his own horn. Commending us is God's job, and waiting for that approval is part of our discipline.
Monetary support was not an unfamiliar topic in the early church. Acts opens with several stories about it, and Paul brings it vividly into the picture with this passage. Money is both a practical need and a spiritual discipline, as it provides something physical to pass among the members of the body of Christ.
As we remember today the apostle James, we are left with mostly the legends of his life. (This isn't the man who wrote the book of James.) His Father was a fisherman (wealthy enough to hire help) and his mother came to Jesus in Matthew 20 to ask Jesus to put her sons in positions of authority. He may have been a little spoiled, maybe? James was also the first apostle to die (documented in Acts 12). Whatever his family background, he died for the faith he found in Jesus.
Sorrow isn't something we love to live in, but Paul sees value in it, because it produces repentance and a drawing of the people closer to God. Of course, sorrow isn't our end goal. There is also joy in the Lord, but also in one another. Paul mentions the experiences of Titus particularly, who was working with a difficult church plant.
Paul takes a very different approach to his struggles: he claims that the negative things that happen to him are the very thing that legitimizes his ministry. A weak person does not create barriers for others, because they are empty of their own capacity to make things happen, so they are open channels. In Paul's case, that is a channel of love, the movement of the Spirit.
That Jesus had women in his group of core disciples is a pretty revolutionary idea. Women were not commonly brought into discipleship under a rabbi or religious leader, but Jesus made no such discrimination. Mary Magdalene particularly had a reason for loving him, since he had freed her from so great a demon possession.
Yesterday we talked about glory and veils, today we're talking about frailty and strength. The glory does indeed belong to God, but the strength that we have is also in him. With life eternal and resurrection bodies in our future, we are indeed uncrushable.
Lots of talk about glory and veils today. Glory is God's presence shining out; the veil is used when that presence leaves. Moses used the veil because his face was changed when the presence departed. Now, we can live always in the Spirit, so the presence never leaves. God is where the Spirit is, and the Spirit is always among us.
Life in Christ is shared with both the Spirit and our brothers and sisters. This isn't a "me and Jesus vs. the world" kind of thing. Not only are we learning to be more like Jesus, we are learning how to live with one another. This requires mistakes, and it also requires grace and forgiveness. People are not Jesus, we are the faulty parts of his body in this advance effort to bring that Kingdom to earth in small ways.
Paul is finishing his first letter to the Corinthians, and it's all about unity. He gives extra attention to the topics of supporting one another and the Jerusalem church, being loving and affectionate toward another, commending those who have been faithful co-laborers. These were the pillars of the first churches, and the should remain at the forefront today.
Something as wild as resurrection bodies might be an easy fixation to get hung up on, but Paul cautions against it. While we are part of that future alongside our Savior, our current bodies still matter. Bearing God's image in our physical bodies and bearing the resurrection image in our resurrection bodies are both creations of God, and neither should be diminished.
The resurrection is everything. Not only because it proves Jesus as God, but also because it is our future. It is foundational to the believe in what Jesus came to do, and that is the thing that makes the Kingdom of Jesus truly unique: it will never end.
Continuing the conversation about speaking in tongues, Paul now turns generally for the need to maintain an orderly worship. There are a lot of pieces in this portion of the letter that, once again, could have benefitted from our knowing what their questions had been. In general, though, the point is to remember that God is the object of worship, and not us.
Gifts of the Spirit aren't just for show, they're for the building up of the church. Speaking in tongues is used here by Paul to show that it's important to keep that focus, and bring one's spiritual family along instead of going on like a lone wolf spiritual giant.
This famous passage from 1 Corinthians about love is often quoted in sermons and at weddings. While love is certainly the foundation of a marriage, that is not really what Paul is talking about here. In previous chapters, he has been talking about a new kind of community, and the building of the body of Christ. Just prior to this, he mentioned a list of gifts from the Spirit. Now, he is explicit about the thing which should come before those gifts: love. God is love, and the Spirit is God. Any gift of the Spirit must be grounded in that reality.
It's difficult to be part of a group where there are differences. Wouldn't it be easier if we were all the same? Not so in the body of Christ. There are different gifts given by the Spirit, so being aware of the Spirit's working in us is critical. If we don't know our part, we might find ourselves trying to use our eyeballs to walk!
There is a LOT of cultural context going on in this verse, but perhaps a good gist might be this: when at worship, the point is not ourselves, but Christ. This includes not putting the emphasis on ourselves in dress and in the Lord's Supper. Paul remembers the liturgy of that meal, a sacrament left to us by Christ himself, to remember his sacrifice and our connection to God. We are also connected to one another when we share that communion, but the focus is still Christ.
Paul comes back to his point about eating meat sacrificed to idols. Not only does he want to encourage the believers to avoid participation in demonic ceremonies, he also wants them to lead others in a way that ends in Christ instead of in idolatry. Not just because they are being observed by others, but also because God's glory should be their objective.
Having an eternal perspective as believers is important, but not at the expense of seeing the world in front of us. Paul talks of both kinds of rewards, but in this passage especially about the practical side of clergy support. He takes the extra step of saying that he didn't ask for this support because he is so compelled to do so, but the obligation to care for ministers still remains.
Remember in this passage that Paul is not trying to return Christians to a legalistic state as he was in as a Pharisee. Not eating meat isn't some return to the hundreds of rules of Paul's Judaism, but is instead part of the bigger picture for creating a new kind of community among others. Not eating meat sacrificed to idols was also a particularly hard mandate for the poor among believers, who might have depended on this as a food source. Instead, they should be cared for by their fellow brothers and sisters.
There is a LOT going on in this verse from 1 Corinthians, and a lot of it probably can't be fully decoded without the letter that was written to Paul, mentioned in the opening lines. It does seem, though, that Paul is trying to convince the Corinthians that they don't need to uproot their entire current life in order to follow Jesus, but rather to follow from where they are.
The spiritual is important, but not to the exclusion of the physical. Our bodies matter to God, or else Jesus wouldn't have been resurrected with his. If Jesus is the firstborn of the new creation which we have to look forward to, then we will be in that creation in our bodies.
Paul hasn't come to change the world, but to build a church. The church is not to try and live outside the world, but to become an outpost of the Kingdom within it. This is why behavior matters and discipline is important: the Church must remain different, or there is no point in its existence.
It is important to have spiritual mentors and to learn from them, this is how faith is passed on. This interwoven family of believers will be made of spiritual brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, helping one another find their way in the ways of the Kingdom of Jesus.
Celebrity pastors are a part of Christian culture today, and they were also a factor in Paul's time. Paul, of course, wants none of that. In the Kingdom of Christ, Christ is King. Celebrity pastors, small church pastors, Sunday School teachers, and someone who disciples one person are all serving one purpose and one Savior, and that Savior is the most important.
Paul may seem to be coming across as pretty anti-education in this passage, but Paul himself was certainly not uneducated. He sat at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the preeminent teachers of his day. His education was considerable. Instead of touting that education, though, he casts it aside as rubble in the light of the Spirit's work. That is what gave Paul his real authority, and connected him to the work of Christ.
The message of the gospel isn't something everyone is ready to hear. What makes the difference? It isn't superior education or being more spiritual than anyone else, but it's the Spirit at work, and the Church working with the Spirit. This is the secret to making human hearts ready to receive what God has to offer.
The sharing of possessions among those in the early church would certainly have been a ripe environment for freeloaders, so Paul cuts that off at the root. The believers are to show kindness, but they are also to contribute back to the community. Otherwise, the flow of love is interrupted: all should both give and receive.
As we remember Peter and Paul, two great giants of the early church, also remember that their relationship was not automatic. There are records of their disagreements, of Peter being corrected by Paul, and of Peter later commending Paul. Being part of this Kingdom of Jesus isn't always about agreeing, sometimes it's about being humble enough to continue life with those not exactly of the same mind as us.
This passage from 2 Thessalonians might seem like it's full of vengeance, but of course vengeance isn't the point for a follower of Jesus. Suffering, on the other hand, can make it difficult for us to keep our eyes on Jesus. Paul has some comfort for that: don't worry about your own vengeance, keep following Jesus. The vengeance is in God's hands, just as we are.
Harmony is difficult, and even the people of God struggle with holding that together. In these closing passages from 1 Thessalonians, Paul gives some guidelines for achieving that: respect, peace, encouragement, patience, and mercy. All of these happen in the Spirit, who is among and in the body of believers.
This passage from 1 Thessalonians can be a little argumentative, because it is one of the foundations of end-time theologies. Without debating any of that, we do still have Paul assuring the believers that death would not separate them or other fellow believers who had already died from Christ, and that the resurrection of Jesus was a preview for all of us. That's a pretty hefty promise, and not a bad reason to follow a man who rose from the dead.
Paul reminds the Thessalonians that purity and love should go together as citizens of the Kingdom of Jesus. This isn't a purity of laws like the Old Testament laid out, but a purity of life and a flow of love between God and among his church. One cannot go without the other: it is not enough to only love others, and it is not enough to watch our own lives. We must do both.
Remembering John the Baptist is remembering an important ally of Jesus. In this story of his death, we actually don't have a lot of that connection with Jesus, but rather his fiery prophetic side. Such was the life of a prophet: seeing a better world that is possible, they call to attention the things that stand in the way of that better world. The Kingdom of Jesus would be that world fully realized.
The picture Paul paints of his relationship with the Thessalonians is a heartwarming one. These exceptional believers, choosing Jesus above the fashionable gods of their area, hold a special place for Paul. His personal connection is affirmed as he talks about sharing both gospel and life together, which is pretty much exactly what the Church should be for one another.
As Paul opens a letter to the church in Thessalonica, he commends their laying down of other gods and their adoption of the discipleship of the one true God. This was kind of a big deal. In the Greek lands, gods were everywhere, and having multiple gods was fashionable. To abandon that practice in favor of only one would have been notable, and was probably one reason why their "faith had become known everywhere."
To conclude this letter to the Galatians, Paul takes a step away from the "don't do this" conversation to reinforce the action that is correct: follow the law, but the law of Christ. This is a self-sacrificing, loving law that seeks the welfare of others over one's self. If we do this, we are proven as followers of Jesus far more than the keeping of the letter of the old law.
You were doing things right, why change? That's Paul's message to the churches in Galatia, who were suddenly being influenced by Jewish missionaries to add a pre-Jesus Jewish slant to their faith. Not needed, says Paul. Christ is enough. Keep running the race you started, and let the Spirit guide you, loving your neighbor, and showing the fruit that comes from the Spirit's influence.
Since Jewish missionaries are trying to undermine the message of Christ and are encouraging the Galatian churches to essentially return to pre-Christian Judaism, Paul makes an appeal using Jewish history. His appeal: we are now free in Christ, not slaves to the law. Who wants to be a slave anymore? Come enjoy that freedom fully by living in that new way.
Paul is covering some pretty important theological ground here. If Abraham was the root of the promise, isn’t the promise only to the children he bore, and his children’s children? Not the case, luckily. The promise comes to fruition in Christ, who is the seed of Abraham and the fullness of that promise. Because of that reality (and Paul certainly did his work studying this topic), we are all Abraham’s heirs if we are in Christ.
Building a new church really takes some work, especially when you're mixing a ancient faith tradition with a group of brand-new believers. This was the case with the Jews and Gentiles, and Paul was critical to this process. Peter had already received a vision from God that the Gentiles should be included (Acts 10), but the full working out of that new kind of church took time to understand. Paul became the apostle sent specifically to the non-Jewish believers, so that the Church could be more intentional in its building work.
As we open the book of Galatians, Paul is talking about his Jewishness and the irony of his becoming a follower of Christ. Both of these things are going to become relevant as we read through this book. The Galatian churches were probably a mix of Jewish Christians (who had been the first focus of early missionaries, being the people of the promise) and Gentiles who were trying to worship with them. This created a bit of a problem, because the Christian faith was started by a Jew (Jesus!) but needed to include practices that didn't exclude those outside Judaism.
The story of the walk to Emmaus is filled with a playful Jesus, pretending to know nothing about himself and then feigning walking on before being invited in. This is our Savior: he came to earth not just to do the important work of redemption, but also to show us a new way to be human. Sometimes, that requires a little fun.
Jesus's resurrection, though he has not even been seen yet, is being told of by the women who had gone to do the work of the funeral dressing. That nobody believes them, even after Jesus foretold it, is somewhat comical. Jesus always went to those of lower station first, and he made no exception in this case. The women were far from Jewish nobility, and were not even the leadership of Jesus's own organization. In the way of Jesus's Kingdom, of course, they are of high importance for that very reason.
The road to the cross is not a straight one. Jesus does not merely go and die. Instead, an outsider carries his cross. He warns his followers that the destruction in their future is the real topic of mourning and lamentation. A conflict between those being killed with him erupts. Then, the grand finale is a dark day and admiration by one of those who carried out the crucifixion. If Jesus had done nothing else in his life, this march to the cross would have been noteworthy. Of course, Jesus's life was noteworthy for countless reasons. This final moment of his ministry was the final vision of what God's strength looks like in weakness.
It is sad that a crowd and a cadre of religious leaders prefers the life of a murderer and a radical to that of the Prince of Peace. Of course, this whole scene is not happening because Jesus is helpless; there are prophecies being fulfilled and God's purposes finding their full volume in what is playing out. Still, there is Barabbas. He could not be more different from Jesus, but it is an accurate depiction of the route that we sometimes take when the way of peace is too difficult or we cannot understand it.
The Kingdom that Jesus brought did not end with him, it was dependent on those who carried it on after his ministry in the power of the Spirit. Such a person was Barnabas: generous himself and such an encourager that it literally became his name, he would be present for Paul's missionary journeys and even branch out to go on his own.
If Jesus told his disciples to get swords, why does he now tell them not to use them? This is sort of guesswork on the part of your reader, but I like to think that he told them to bring the swords so he could rebuke the use of them. What if Peter and the others thought they could have saved Jesus if they had only been armed? Would they have come back and tried to break him out of prison? Not so in this story. Jesus had the swords brought, and used the occasion to remind the disciples that he did not come to start a military movement, but a Kingdom of another kind.
Things are about to become difficult for the disciples, and Jesus is giving them the benefit of all that they have learned before in review. Serving one another, communing with the Spirit, and sharing in the suffering of their Savior are disciplines that they can only learn by living them, and this is exactly what all of them will do.
The event of the destruction of Jerusalem happened not long after Jesus walked the earth, and it was indeed a horror. The residents of Jerusalem made a mess of things, and the Romans came down on them hard. It was brutal and violent. Especially since the temple of Jerusalem was so central to worship, this could be seen as a blow against God himself. Of course, that is not the case. Jesus lives today, the worship we produce is fit for him and God will endure even if the whole world disappears.
Moving toward the cross, Jesus is working on establishing some pretty important ideas. Not only that the resurrection is real, and that those who experience it are headed toward a pretty incredible eternity, but also that preparation for eternal life starts now. The widow who have everything understood how that works. She did not lose sight of the eternal, and the things of the present world were not her greatest priority.
Why did Jesus ask about John? Was he trying to change the subject? For that answer, he provides a parable. Just as the vineyard tenants did not recognize the authority of the representatives sent to them, so did the religious leaders truly not recognize God's authority with the prophets through the ages. Otherwise, just as the vineyard visitors, they would have honored their patron by honoring those sent bearing the message.
Jesus riding into town on a colt was the very opposite of the tone set by those who opposed him. On the back of that animal, he would make no war. It was not the steed of a conquering hero, but that is still what he would become. Of course, he would not conquer by killing those who opposed him, the very action of those who were working in the shadows against him. He would conquer through self-sacrifice and love.
Jesus is coming near the end of his ministry, so he is being more direct about his kingship in this new Kingdom. He is also being clear about the failings of the religious leaders who have been leading the people before: they have not all been wise with what was entrusted to them. (Although some have!) Merely being called a caretaker is not enough, it was left to them to do more with what they had.
The ways Jesus made others whole was not universal. For a blind man, it was restoration of sight. For a cheating tax collector, it was abandonment of his cheating lifestyle and coming back to a community that probably despised him. The message and life of Jesus inspired others to do such things, because walking his way was worth the effort.
The Kingdom of Jesus is upside down. The humble are first, children are the example of how we are to be, and having less is having more. Nobody gets left out of the equation, but the poor and marginalized are moved to the head of the class.
The passage about the Second Coming generally causes arguments between theologians, but this much is at least somewhat universal: Jesus is preaching abandonment of the temporal for the eternal. This is an important perspective in this Kingdom, because Jesus aims to remove the distractions between believers and their God. For many, this is a tall order. We are attached to our things. But in the view of the eternal, the way of Jesus is the sweetest path to walk.
It's kind of neat to know that God's plan was so filling the world with the birth of Jesus that even John the Baptist, a baby in his mother's womb, leapt when first in his presence. Jesus was certainly more than a great teacher, he was God incarnate opening up the world to a new order under himself. That certainly was worthy of recognition by a unborn future prophet.
Building a community is hard work and it's not always pretty. Sometimes, the members of that community hurt one another. The church is no exception, despite being the visible Kingdom of Jesus on earth. Because it's sometimes hard to love one another, Jesus gave us this radical command to forgive. It may not always seem fair, but we are putting ourselves in the hands of the one who has forgiven us even more.
Jesus came to lift up the lowly, not cheer on the powerful. The rich man and Lazarus is a story illustrating that. The powerful of the day certainly didn't need any help. In a Kingdom where the first would be last and the last would be first, Jesus always stood with those who were already last.
Pentecost (the story of which is found in Acts 2) is the final piece of God's new play with Jesus's coming: the Holy Spirit descends on his people. This is God's affirmation that the Church is caught in the very spirit of the Trinity. Because of Pentecost, we know that God remains with us, even though Jesus did not remain in bodily form.
Jesus has spent a lot of time talking about the poor attitudes of the religious leaders, now he gives them a glimpse of what a good attitude would look like. If their eyes weren't set on power, perhaps they might see better those around them. And if those people were given some discipling, perhaps they would become members of this new Kingdom that Jesus talked about. This could be a great gift, certainly worth celebrating as much as finding something lost.
Jesus sure didn't mind making things awkward! Invited to a meal where it was almost certain that people would have been looking to sit in the place of honor, he talks about the futility of doing so. It's interesting to think about the host, a Pharisee, quietly going around telling people to move somewhere else, and Jesus calling out the action as an indication of a heart not tuned to the ways of Jesus. Do you think he ever got invited back?
What does it take to be saved? Jesus talks about those who thought they would be, but were still cast into darkness at the judgement. He has been hitting the religious leaders pretty hard, and certainly this applies to them. They were literally the people whose houses he had eaten, and who had encouraged him to teach for show. Generally, though, entering the Kingdom through the narrow gate is to do nothing less than the Jesus way itself, and he is the narrow way.
Jesus is pronouncing some pretty clear judgements on the religious elite of his day, the "fig trees" that had received extra care because they were in the special "vineyard" of God's leadership. Unfortunately, they were not doing their job as fruit bearers for God's cause, and chose instead to use their status for personal gain. This is not the way things must be in the Kingdom of Jesus, and he has no patience for those who work against his cause.
Is Jesus out to start fights? Our God is about unity and harmony, so that's definitely not the primary goal of the gospel. But the Gospel can be difficult for some, and will be rejected by others. In those cases, the people in Jesus's day were not to abandon their newfound faith, but to hold to it. While this wasn't the easy path, this is the way that the Kingdom found its place.
With all the talk Jesus did about Kingdoms, it must have been difficult to separate people from ideas of riches and power. Neither of those were what Jesus came to provide. As he laid out the extreme differences between riches in the world and riches in his Kingdom, there must have been a few scratches of the head. Does he really want us to do that?
It seems like Jesus is being unfairly harsh on the entire group of religious leaders, but he does so with good reason. These are the religious leaders who have been speaking on God's behalf, and the people understood their mandates as being straight from God. Jesus needed to correct both the administration of the Law and the leaders themselves, because the selfish and power-hungry approach of the religious leaders was out of line with that of the Kingdom of Jesus. Of course, he also wanted them to be part of that Kingdom. Leaders like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and Paul got it. In all likelihood, those three were part of a much larger group.
The disciples have asked for a tool that brings them into the presence of God, which is what prayer does. Jesus responds by giving them that, and much more. He also shows them the goodness of God, that the God they serve is better than the best of earthly parents.
Jesus is confronting two seemingly good people in the passage from Luke. The expert in the law seems to be fishing for a compliment, and Martha seems to be fishing for justification. He gives neither what they are after. Instead, he helps them step outside themselves, outside their definition of what it means to be "good." In the Kingdom of Jesus, it isn't about being better, but about putting ourselves in God's hands to learn what we need to be taught.
That Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father is more than a trick or a simple event, it is a completion of his work. He ascended to the throne of Heaven because that is who he was: the King of our Kingdom. That Kingdom, with the life of Christ as our template, is the place where we learn to be his Body here on earth.
The disciples offering to call down fire on others is a bit arrogant. They are basically saying, "we know Jesus, not them. This is the only real group of disciples." It's interesting that after they want to rebuke the outsiders, Jesus turns and rebukes them. They are still a little mired in the idea that God is only working with one group of people, but the Kingdom has already grown.
Jesus's Lordship is important, because it is the thing that sets him apart as unique among all founders of religion. He wasn't a man who had a unique perspective on God, he was God. Seeing Jesus is seeing God, and walking with Jesus is walking with God. The life of Jesus is the life of God, and this is why his life is a standard for us to chase after.
Jesus was teaching some difficult lessons to the apostles, but they needed to know this stuff so they could build the church. Instead of sending them out as lords over others, he sent them out to be dependent on others. When it came time to feed the crowds, he told the apostles to take care of it. All of this was with the help of power of another kind-- his power-- and learning to use that power took practice.
Jesus finds people falling at his feet several times in this passage. The healed woman and the demon-possessed man are there after they are healed, in gratitude. Jairus is there before his daughter is healed, begging Jesus' help. This remains a good model for us as well: both before and after God's work appears in our lives, our job is worship. What God does is up to God, but our role doesn't change.
"The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom." That sounds like a pretty big deal. What makes the disciples so special? Some have imagined this as a supernatural imbuing, some kind of special thing that was passed on in Jesus's secret society. I think it may be simpler than that, however. I think it maybe the very fact of living with Jesus, and the advantage that the disciples have in living with him and walking with him. For them, the stories are lived out. For others, only seeing Jesus in passing, parables are more critical.
The story of the woman who broke an extravagant gift for Jesus has been sung and preached of many times. Perhaps because it seems far beyond our capacity? This woman and the widow who gives all she has (which we read in Mark and will read again later in Luke) are examples of those who follow Jesus recklessly and with abandon. It's a high bar.
Tha passage of the prophetic torch between John and Jesus was intentional. John knew that someone was coming after him to bring completion to the work he started, because John knew he was not a savior. This is why Jesus had to be exactly who he was: a mere man could not have done the work of God, of John would have sufficed. What Jesus did was work only for God.
With the centurion, Jesus makes an astounding confirmation: God is with all those who put faith in Jesus. This was a pretty big deal, because the covenant with Abraham was for one family line, not all family lines. Jesus is ushering in a new covenant, fulfilling the old one, and establishing a new family under his own name.
Jesus is making a new way of understanding the world, and it is not about money or power. This is a pretty radical departure even from the Jewish world. and it was an almost reckless abandon of worry for self in light of loving God and neighbor. Of course, this was modeled by Jesus himself. It if looks like he is asking us to go first, giving before we have received, we should remember the servant that Jesus came to be, and also remember that we are heirs to a new kind of riches in his Kingdom.
Jesus being lord of the Sabbath does not mean Jesus is more important that the Sabbath, but it does mean that his life reframes the meaning of that day. It was never meant to be a legalistic day, where you must measure and watch your every move to make sure you do nothing wrong. Jesus brought life to the Sabbath so it could be seen above all else, that communion with God should be whole-hearted.
The new Kindgom Jesus is bringing won't fit into the old mold. This is why it was important for Jesus to come as a person: the news needed to be conveyed, and the best way to give that news was to live it out in front of others.
Jesus isn't creating this new kingdom in isolation, he didn't come to build a wall around himself. He is making others whole, restoring them to their community (which is one of the purposes of the sacrifice after being healed of leprosy), and he is recruiting others to lead. This is what we call the Church now, but it is still the Kingdom of King Jesus, and it works like no other organization that has ever existed.
The way in which Jesus brings his Kingdom into the world is ludicrous. He doesn't toot his own horn. In fact, when those from the spiritual realm who know who he is -- even though they are his enemies-- try to say who he is, he stops them. Because that Kingdom would not be brought about by making other feel conquered and riding around as a victor. It would come by bringing wholeness to the world, the way that God originally intended, and showing a way other than the one to which the people of his time were accustomed.
Jesus certainly had the human experience. Temptation, rejection, and even attempted murder. Hopefully none of us will ever experience that last one, but whatever we face, we can feel confident that we are understood by our Savior.
There may be a few familiar names in this list of Jesus’s genealogy, and for good reason. This list is full of promise, including Abraham, the object of God’s first covenant. Jesus was situated in a time and in a family, he was introduced into the line of mankind and did not hatch from the earth or fall from the sky. He was a person, God made man, God among us.
Not just anyone can be a Messiah. John brought the first signs of the Kingdom into the world, and not all of those were convenient for those around him. For Herod, it was confrontational. Everyone had their own adjustments to make to walk in step with that way. Even John would eventually step aside to make way for Jesus, God himself, who could fully bring that Kingdom to bear.
Even Jesus's early life was moving through God's purposes. From the intersections with people who had devoted themselves to God to his seemingly defiant behavior on the trip to Jerusalem, the unfolding plan of God was always traveling with him.
While Jesus’s birth was humble, it still required messenger whose first words must be, “don’t be afraid.” While Jesus absolutely came to show us what life can be, and to live that life in front of us, his God-ness is still central to who he is. The angels showed up to make sure that balance was struck.
The birth of John seems uncomfortable for everyone. His father unable to speak, his mother ignored when she tries to name him and the people who are there with her arguing that she can't name her child what she has chosen to. John would bring the prophet's voice to disrupt lives in the future, and God's purpose for him started even from the beginning.
God is extending his unfolding plan to people, and John the Baptist will be among the first. You almost get the sense that Jesus and John are working together even before birth, and they certainly pick up that connection in adulthood. What Jesus would complete, John would begin.
The birth of John was important as an introduction to God's unfolding plan. Once again, God does something that doesn't seem to make sense: this is unfolded to a man who is immediately unable to speak of this grand unfolding. Maybe God has a sense of humor, or maybe God is content to allow things to unfold slowing, coming together in small revelations. Whatever the case, Zechariah had plenty of time to think about it as he was silent for a few months!
Even in his resurrection, Jesus doesn't do things the way that a worldly victor would do them. Did he rise and melt away his enemies? Did he even make a big deal about it? No, on both counts. Nobody is even there when he rises from the tomb, and the first witnesses are women who were doing the work of preparing the dead. He tells them to pass the word along, and then he later appears to the hapless disciples. This was the inauguration of the new Kingdom, the first signs of a new Heaven and new earth to come, and Jesus keeps the work in the hands of the unlikely.
Remembering Mark is remembering someone who wrote much of others but not himself. He apparently came from a family of believers (as Peter went to their house when he was freed from prison), and later joined the Apostles on their journeys. Later in Acts 15, Mark's failure would become a point of argument between Paul and Barnabas, so much so that the two parted company and Mark and Barnabas resumed in another direction. Certainly, no follower of Jesus is perfect, but it is sometimes our imperfections that make the most interesting parts of our faith journey.
One of the reasons the story of Jesus is so believable is because it tells of so many failures. Jesus didn't come to destroy his enemies and establish an army that couldn't be stopped. He rode into town on a donkey and recruited faulty, fallible people to take up the cause after his own shameful death. Peter was no exception. His betrayal was poignant because this is the same Peter who Jesus praised for believing that Jesus was the Son of God, and now that belief is falling apart. There's some hope in that part of the story for those of us who sometimes struggle in our own faith.
The way Jesus handles his final hours before the arrest is important. Of course, he doesn’t run away and hide. He moves forward with purpose, connected to the Father, knowing the fulfillment of Scripture. He also makes sure to confirm that he is not leading an armed rebellion, both because this is not the heart of God and because his followers might have been killed. Violence is the work of the cross, not the work of Christians.
This scene is not only the prelude to the crucifixion, but also the resurrection. Jesus talks about the perfume preparing him for death, but he also talks about drinking new wine in the Kingdom. You cannot have one without the other, because this is God's whole plan. The redemption of mankind is critical in the crucifixion, but not just so we will have eternal insurance. It is also important because the new Kingdom where Jesus will once again drink with us is the final plan of God.
Jesus talking about his return is an idea that has been interpreted in many different ways, but the fact that he asks his followers to believe that he will return and that they should be expectant of this event is fairly universal. This is more than a neat trick, it is the fulfillment of the Kingdom in its completeness. As Jesus was resurrected, so will all things be made new in him, a new Heaven and a new earth with Jesus properly its king.
Much has been made in many sermons about this widow who gave all she had to the church. Rightly so. The fear of living without money is prevalent for many of us, and our material possessions sometimes own us as a result. The widow was among the lowest in the ancient world, and she did not mind making herself lower still by giving away her possessions. Such would also be the case with Jesus, as he lowered himself to death on the cross.
Jesus has a view of God's future that is difficult to explain to those who refuse to see things any way but their own. The Sadducees deny the resurrection, and the Pharisees and Herodians are so mired in legalism that they want to define Jesus based on his interpretation of the law. It's a shame. If they had taken a moment to step away from that entrenched point of view, they might -- like the teacher in the last part of the passage -- have gotten closer to the Kingdom.
Jesus is unloading some pretty heavy truth on the religious leaders. Just like the vineyard tenants, they were give charge over what was God's. Also like the tenants, they have abused their power. The keys to the Kingdom are being taken away from them and being handled by the "vineyard owner" directly, in the form of his Son. Of course, Jesus did have one more chapter to that story, but let's not get ahead of ourselves!
Jesus is doing many symbolic things that point to the kind of Kingdom he’s building in this passage. He starts by riding on a donkey colt as he enters Jerusalem, which is both funny and ironic. Most victors, coming home from war, would have rode in on the biggest war horse they could find to show their triumph. Jesus seems to be both poking fun at that establishment and turning it on its head. And of course, the withering of the fig tree seems kind of random, but it’s not. He came to condemn those who use religion as a cudgel to beat others with, making them poor fruit bearers like the tree.
Suffering is part of being a disciple, but it is not without meaning. Jesus suffered, and James and John would as well. Suffering is a lesson we learn to both understand the heart of God, but also to share in the sufferings of others.
It's tempting to think that Jesus was condemning the rich man for being rich, but that's not the case. There were wealthy people throughout the early church, and many of them played important roles. Jesus points out with this man what the difficulty is: the man's wealth is the most important to him, or he might lay it down as Jesus asked. The apostles did this, and did so immediately. The wealthy man drew his identity from he money and not from who he could be with Jesus.
Jesus is the fulfillment of the law and prophets, so it is symbolic that he appeared with Moses and Elijah and then was left to himself. God ordained the Law and the prophets as a starting point, but it was inadequate. Jesus gave meaning to God's play by showing what it looked like when it came to life.
The disciples seem still to want to be in charge, to control the Kingdom that Jesus came to establish. Of course, they have it wrong. It is not a Kingdom to be controlled and regulated, or that would just be legalism all over again. Instead, the Kingdom of Jesus is made to be shared and expanded. This is why Jesus was so eager to include those who work in his name: he is the key, and that remains true.
Peter rebuking Jesus was quite a gutsy move. Not only was Jesus the Son of God, but he was also Peter's teacher. Jesus responds by rebuking him in return, but of course that's not the end of Peter's story. He will make many more mistakes, but then he will be the leader of the new Church. Maybe brashness has a place in the Kingdom after all.
Jesus certainly honors those who approach and ask for what they need. The Gentile woman he appears to insult sees her child healed, and the mute man who is brought directly to him is made whole. Perhaps that willingness to come to Jesus shows that those who wish to be healed have bypassed all other options and come to Jesus, who does not leave them in the cold.
Jesus didn't have much patience for those who inflicted rules on others while showing no love. The spirit of the law was to help the people learn God's heart, not merely follow the rigor or a set of laws. Jesus put breath into that law and showed them a new way, and the face of God himself was their guiding light.
The resurrection of Jesus means more than God’s power shown in the Son, it means our own future. Jesus is the pattern of the resurrection that will come true for all things, and we are included in that if we are part of his body. He is risen indeed!
Jesus laid a full day in the grave, which also happened to be the Jewish Sabbath. This was God’s rest day from the beginning of creation, so it is fitting that life was being brought back to God’s Son as the Sabbath is meant to bring life to us.
The arrest and trial of Jesus is full of irony. His accusers seem to acknowledge who Jesus is, and Jesus seems content to let them do the talking. He is walking a prophetic road now, completing the work that he came to do. We want to rush ahead to the resurrection, but this is an important moment too. Jesus is doing more than just walking to the gallows, he's showing the humility and love of God.
Jesus's washing of his disciples feet was highly unusual. The job was usually reserved for the lowest servants, and would certainly not have been performed by someone in authority. Jesus is redefining authority in his Kingdom. Not that he sought power, but that he came to serve.
Is Jesus abandoning the earthly family he was born into? Of course not. Later, at the cross, caring for his mother is right at the front of his mind. But he is giving those in his Kingdom a new kind of family, a bond that comes though him and binds us together in a Spirit of love.
(Sorry I'm late... I messed up my scheduling!) What was the difference between being close to Jesus and being just outside his inner circle? Time with Jesus himself. The disciples didn’t have any special skills that made them superheroes, but they did have the benefit of more time in the presence of Jesus. With that increased amount of time witnessing what the Word looks like when it is given life, they had a special insight into the teachings of Jesus.
There’s a big difference between Jesus’s approach to the Sabbath and that of the religious leaders who used the law to control others. Jesus got to the heart of the law, which was to bring the life God intended to man, but just get better at avoiding error. That life was none other than Jesus himself, and those who tried his way found it a much less oppressive path.
Matthew seems like a pretty logical choice if you’re looking for disciples. He knew the government, and he knew how to keep books. But was that the reason Jesus chose him as a disciple? It’s fun to think that maybe the reason Jesus picked him was because Matthew had a crowd of friends around him that weren’t particularly interested in religion. That’s the kind of people Jesus wanted to talk to, and Matthew certainly knew how to bring them in.
What kind of king doesn't want a big audience? The kind that comes to show what God looks like among humanity, and that's exactly what Jesus was. He didn't want to fill arenas so he could be heard talking (and there weren't microphones anyway!), but he was interested in building the Kingdom in people, one person at at time.
Jesus is fully human, but also fully God. With that mystery at work, you have to expect a few surprises. Spirits obey him and recognize him because of his Godhood, but he doesn't lord it over us regular people. Small acts like the one he did for Simon (Peter)'s mother are evidence of that.
Wny did Jesus need to be baptized? Was it to wash away his sins? Certainly not, but to show us what full fellowship with God looks like. His example was made for us so that we could know God better, and the invitation to baptism is just the beginning.
The responses to Jesus were notable. A religious leader, someone who was probably friends with the enemies of Jesus, gave his own burial plot for Jesus's body. The other religious leaders who convinced soldiers to lie were certainly convinced that something had come of Jesus's message... why else would they go to such great lengths to cover up what was happening? And then there were the disciples. Even after the resurrection, some still had problems believing. Following Jesus wasn't easy, but he did make an enduring promise: that he would always be with his followers.
The crucifixion is, of course, one of the most important moments in Christian history. Jesus is fulfilling prophecy while demonstrating the unthinkable vulnerability of a God who came to be among us. It was also a wild day, apparently, with those who had died before making surprise appearances. Only God knows the answer to why, but maybe this first bell of Jesus inaugurating his lordship needed a few extra heralds?
It seems that the path to the cross has more people in conflict than just Jesus. Judas kills himself, Pilate's wife tries to warn him and fails, and even the religious leaders who paid Judas realize that they have spent blood money. Supernatural forces are certainly at work, and this has an effect on the people involved.
The road to the cross is a difficult one, and not just for Jesus. Times of testing sometimes show us things we wish we didn't know about ourselves, and Peter is learning his own cowardice. Don't worry, though. Better days are coming.
It's easy for us, with the benefit of looking back on history, to see where God's story was going and think Mary was calmly agreeing to what was about to happen in her life. In reality, it was scandalous enough that Joseph considered cutting her loose. And so would be the life of Jesus: doing things sometimes opposite of what might be expected, but using that upside-down approach to help people see who God really was.
Seems like things are going pretty badly for Jesus. He’s abandoned. In the eyes of the world, he’s failing. Easter is coming, but let’s not get there too fast. Today, Jesus is refusing to allow his followers to defend him with violence, further proof that he’s starting something new.
Jesus has been talking, in previous chapters, a lot about what citizens of his Kingdom look like. Now he comes to an even more important point: himself. There is no Kingdom without him, and his is the life that was given to breathe breath into the Law and prophets. His sacrifice is the picture of what God looks like and the lengths to which God will go to be in covenant with his people.
Today’s collection of verses are an interesting combination. In Psalm 51, after the lament section, David declares that his sacrifice is a broken Spirit, which he wrote after the priesthood of Aaron was established from the Exodus passage. “You do not delight in sacrifice” also seems like a preview for what Jesus was bringing, And of course, the passage from Matthew is exactly that: instead of the brokenness of animals, we should be humble enough to serve others, offering wholeness.
Lest we think that Jesus is telling the story of the investing servants as some kind of indication that our talents are needed to built the Kingdom, remember this: the money given belonged to the master in that story, What we have, we have from God. We are to be faithful with what we have so that we may become experienced in living in that kind of Kingdom that Jesus built, and it will certainly take some practice.
Jesus has been asked for a sign on his divinity before, and has criticized the religious leaders for doing so. Now, he gives them a preview of the future: at his second coming, all things wil be made new and judgement will occur. The encouragement here is for obedience, because this is really the best thing we have to offer the God of the Universe.
The destruction of the Temple that Jesus describes actually happened a few decades after his crucifixion and resurrection. The Temple was central to Jewish life, so this was a pretty big deal. Luckily, there was a new Temple. The place where God came to meet man became a man, and the Holy Spirit moves among us as a constant connection to God. The violent end of the Temple may have been sad, but it was not the end of God’s work.
Jesus is really picking apart the legalism of the Pharisees, and for good reason. They draw out tiny, nit-picky details of the law that miss the entire point of the Kingdom. Making access to the God of the universe impossible is the opposite of Jesus’s mission, and it was important that he said so.
Today, Jesus is drawing out some pretty distinct differences between his Kingdom and the religious establishment of the day. Instead of status, people in Jesus’s Kingdom are seeking to serve. It’s like a race to the bottom. Seeking titles and glory are the opposite of what he came to do, and a radical renovation of the heart and mind is required.
How do we shake loose of thinking about things like the world, so we can allow our minds to think like Jesus? Of course, it isn’t possible to think fully like Jesus without being him, but these rivals who take him on in today’s passage are about as far away as you can get. Challenging Jesus about who’s going to be married in the afterlife is missing the point: resurrection is far better than anything we could imagine.
Jesus is really ruffling the feathers of the religious leaders, because he is exposing their selfishness. This isn’t because Jesus came to cut off those who were the religious elite of the day, they did that to themselves. Jesus confronts them because the Kingdom he came to bring needed to be seen for what it really was so that it could be found, and nobody but him held the keys to that.
The sound of rowdy children seems to have been disturbing to the more refined of religious leaders, but Jesus considers them worshipers. This moment, paired with Jesus driving out the vendors who were selling in the temple, points to a more innocent Kingdom, more like the children than the adults.
Sitting at Jesus’s right and left hand would have been positions of esteem, but James and John didn’t realize what that really meant. How do you sit in a position of authority for a king who has come to serve? Indeed, they would hold memorable places in church history: according to tradition, James was the first and John was the last to die. John was exiled to an island, while James was killed just as the church was getting started. If either of them thought fortune and glory would come with the esteem of Jesus’s Kingdom, they were sorely disappointed.
This upside-down Kingdom continues to take shape, and he seems to make a grave error… if you have a wealthy person interested in your cause shouldn’t you ask them to fund you? Build you a building? But that’s not the way Jesus goes, because his Kingdom is already firmly established. His choice to to turn the man’s posturing (especially when he claims to have kept all the commandments since birth) into an teachable moment.
This is a rough verse for divorced people. On the surface, it seems like there is no hope. But, of course, with Jesus, there is always hope. Divorce is no different than any other part of being human, and we are certainly not outside God’s grace or love. If you are person, and you are listening to this, don’t worry. You haven’t been rejected by God. Many things have happened since God first created the ideal for mankind, and everyone on earth is living outside that ideal now.
Interpersonal relations are important in the Kingdom, and the harmony people keep is one of the qualities of Christian life. We are not disembodied souls, but we are real people who do real life together. Forgiveness and communication are important in that picture.
The upside-down Kingdom of Jesus is a place where people do not jostle for power, but the race is to the bottom. Serving others is looking outside yourself, which is something children still do because they have not learned how to connive to get what they want. Jesus came to serve, not to be served, and this is very much the quality of someone who set himself aside to bring wholeness to others.
Jesus is the fulfillment of both the Law and the prophets, which is why only Jesus remains after Moses and Elijah disperse at the Transfiguration. This is one of the cornerstones of the Kingdom of which Jesus is King. The things that came before him are not erased, but his is the life that the Law could never give.
It seems that Jesus makes a pretty hasty decision about Peter, choosing to rest the establishment of the Church on Peter's shoulders for one confession. Of course, this is not the product of one moment. Peter has many ups and downs recorded throughout the Gospels, and perhaps this is the reason that Jesus finally made this declaration: not because Peter was perfect, but because his imperfection would be exactly the conduit through which the Holy Spirit could work.
It’s quite a God who not only talks of a new Kingdom but also meets the practical needs of those who come to hear him. This isn’t a God who only came to bring good ideas, but whole life. How can people pursue something greater if they don’t know where their next meal will come from?
Jesus seems harsh to everyone in this passage! The words he has for the religious leaders are indeed harsh because they have failed to help the people understand the spirit of the Law. But what about this woman who asked for healing? It’s not stated directly in the text, but my theory is that he was setting her up to defend herself because he needed those around her (including his own disciples) to hear what she had to say. He quickly commends her, so it certainly wasn’t the case that he had animosity against this woman.
Jesus is always on the opposite side of the story from fear. When the disciples are afraid of the ability to feed people, Jesus steps in and shows them abundance. When Peter starts to sink on the water, Jesus remains steadfast and pulls him back up. We never see him panic, never see him despair. Fear is not in his playbook, and this should be part of the Kingdom we inhabit.
There’s a lot of irony in today’s New Testament passage. Jesus is talking about the treasure of the Kingdom that he brings, and then those most familiar with him reject the gift he brings, because they think he is just one of them. On one hand, this is sad for them. Jesus is right there, and he is offering a great gift. On the other hand, this is a strong indicator of what Jesus was like: he didn’t come to impress anyone with himself, so much so that people really did think he was a commoner. If God becoming man meant God wanted to be average so that the average would know God was accessible to them, then that mission was certainly accomplished.
Jesus talks a lot about the Kingdom, because it’s a strange place compared to the religious landscape people have come to expect. Grandiose temples and spectacle were the order of the day both for the Jews and the Romans, so Jesus casting a picture of a Kingdom that starts so small it it barely seen would have seemed pretty ridiculous. Who wants to be part of that? And yet this was the better option, a Kingdom that continues growing today.
The Word was available to those around Jesus in a way it had never been before: it was embodied in him. But of course, not everyone received it the same way. Just because the news is good doesn’t mean it’s wanted. The list of reason Jesus gave haven’t changed much in 2000 years, and the impact of Jesus’s Kingdom plan is still lessened because hearts are hard.
The stories of Moses and Jesus have a common theme today: a sign is demanded. In the story of Moses, a sign is given, because God needs to show his people living in Egypt that he is greater than the gods of Egypt. Jesus does not do this for the religious leaders, though, because they already know the God who showed up for Moses in Egypt. This time, Jesus did not need to show God’s power, but the weakness that he would take on in the crucifixion.
Jesus had very little patience for those who prized Law above the wholeness of God's people, and this scene illustrates that. There was a debate at hand about whether or not work was permitted on the Sabbath, but that wasn't the point: the Sabbath regulations were intended to create a place of rest for God's people, and that Spirit could never be fully captured in Laws. This is why Jesus came to bring life to them.
Jesus's Kingdom didn't come without expectations, not even for John the Baptist. The message was good, but Jesus came to transform us into a different kind of person. His talk of the towns that heard the message but did nothing about it is a good indication of this. Especially with the use of Sodom in the list, the people would have probably been a little offended... and rightly so.
A lot of the guidelines for life in Jesus’s Kingdom have to do with other people, but the central relationship is with Jesus. There is even some overlap: welcoming Christs’s ambassadors is welcoming Christ himself, and he holds those who are his very closely. This is all wrapped up in relationships, which are the basic building blocks of the Kingdom.
The group Jesus set up was more than a fan club, it was an intentional gathering of Jewish men who were to become the beginning of the early Church. Replacing the fallen Judas with Matthias was important because, not only was it a prophetic moment, but the gap left with only 11 needed correcting. The places each of these apostles actually went in their journeys are the stories of legend, but the combined efforts that they shared created the Church that we have today.
Sorry to be a day late on Ash Wednesday! This is absolutely an important day in the Church calendar, because it starts the season of Lent and reminds us, through the application of ashes to foreheads, that we are dust. But we are also loved, and the Savior who took on our dusty body has much to say during this season.
Why would you have recruited Matthew to be a disciple? The obvious choice is his skill with financial matters, but Jesus doesn’t capitalize on that. Instead, he seems eager to take advantage of the group of rabble that Matthew apparently ran with. Maybe he was trying to find a way to inject himself into a crowd of people who might not have followed of their own accord? Whatever the reasoning, he uses the opportunity to remind those around him that these are the very people he came for.
It seems like Jesus is in the business of thinning the crowd in this scene, not growing one. While that’s not the model that most modern churches would want to follow, he had a good reason. The work of the Gospel wasn’t just about doing magic tricks and gaining fame, it was about sacrifice and service. This would be modeled perfectly by Jesus later, but he didn’t want anyone to miss it right now. The way you build your Kingdom is important to sustaining it, and Jesus was laying a strong foundation, even if that meant smaller numbers.
Jesus is establishing an upside-down Kingdom where those who were thought to be outsiders are suddenly included. As with the Roman who requests help for his servants it only takes faith and an inquiring Spirit; Jesus does the rest. Those who find themselves “outside the gate” in Jesus’s illustration are all the religious leaders who have used their position to prosper themselves but impoverish the Kingdom of Jesus.
Jesus continues to turn the system of Law and purity on its head, but he does not miss the opportunity to tell the listeners to "first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." This would have been particularly poignant to the Pharisees, who specialized in telling others the way they should live through the Law. This gave that group a kind of control over how to live and that's not what Jesus was teaching. He wanted to leave control and judgement with God alone, and keep our focus on what God is doing instead of the actions of others.
The connection Jesus challenges us to have with God is radical. In the vision of Jesus, God is close, providing our needs, even seeing what we need. This is not a God who is far away, but a God who is close enough to be part of our lives.
Jesus intends to show us the way into an interior life with God that will govern our exterior lives with others. In that approach to life, we are turned toward God and can forgive others; we are looking for the Kingdom now and building it for the future.
Jesus's Sermon on the Mount is a tough pill to swallow. He is taking the Law, which was probably a heavy burden for many at the time already, and making it worse. Why? So that nobody can be righteous? Of course not. Those who want to make themselves right by rigid adherence to the Law are in the wrong kingdom. In the Kingdom of Jesus, following Jesus gets the life of the Law and the Life in the Spirit together, and that is transformational.
Jesus declares those blessed who would have been among the lost, lonely, and left out. They do. Not look triumphant, but such is the case in the Kingdom he brings. Those who reside in the Kingdom of Jesus are oriented in a different way, and the life of Jesus remains our true way.
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." Jesus spent more time talking about the Kingdom of God than anything else, and it started with him. To build a Kingdom like that, you need to start in a different way. How did Jesus start? By rejecting easy power and pride. He chose instead to walk a long road to suffering, but the Kingdom he brought was worthy of God because of its slow coming.
God’s plan was unfolding with Jesus, but it included other characters. John was central to that, because he began preparing the stage for Jesus to advance. It still wasn’t a perfect world for the message that Jesus would bring, but John would bring some of the first apostles along, and performing Jesus’s baptism set an example for all of us to follow.
Not only is prophecy being fulfilled in Jesus’s coming, but the Exodus story is also being remembered with this series of events. Just as Moses’s birth caused Pharaoh to kill the generation in which Moses was born, so did the same thing happen with children Jesus’s age in an attempt to stop God’s moving. In both cases, God is enacting a rescue play for humanity, but Jesus is expanding that far beyond what Moses did.
Jesus didn’t come to maintain the status quo, and his birth is no exception. The scandal of his birth was small, but it set the stage for what was to come. He would disrupt and upend the thinking of many, and his parents both got an early taste of that.
Let us never forget that Jesus was from an earthly family, and that family was not made of superheroes. It is full of scoundrels and murderers, cheats and cowards. From that family line, the Son came to show us what life could really be like. Only God could do that!
This thing with the fish seems familiar. Jesus has served fish before on hillsides full of curious seekers. This time, it is a small meal for those closest to him, but it is still full of significance. Jesus provides the meal despite the massive amount of fish the apostles have. (It can certainly be argued that he provided those too!) He is pouring out abundance on them, and especially Peter, who needs to know that his failure is not the end of his story.
“These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” This is the reason John gives for writing, and was one of Jesus's reasons for walking among us. That was no less true among his early followers, and the difference between Mary and Thomas is a great example. Mary requires only hearing her own name, and Thomas is slower to believe. In both cases, Jesus knows them well enough to meet them where they are, and they respond by believing that he is the Messiah, the Son of God."
It might be easy to criticize Joseph and Nicodemus for seeming to show up late to the party. Weren’t they Jewish leaders? Couldn’t they have done something to stop all of this before doing the work of gravediggers? Laying aside the fact that all of the crucifixion events were fulfilling scripture, many of us have probably been in their place. Maybe we couldn’t change the way things were, but we could be faithful in the places available to us.
This is a power struggle unlike any in history. Pilate, the Roman governor who holds most of the immediate power, seems in a struggle against his one conscience. The religious leaders appear to be using the crowd to drive home the outcome they want, and in the middle of it is the Son of God. While Jesus is truly powerful, he is choosing to take a position of weakness, not even defending himself. There is a lot to learn from this moment, and we may find ourselves in the position of several of these subjects depending on where we are in life.
Jesus has spent a lot of time talking about his Kingdom, and now he outlines the purpose of his kingship to Pilate: to testify to the truth. There is a lot to unpack in that statement (which is why there are so many parables explaining the Kingdom) but at the end of the day, Jesus established the Kingdom to show a better way, and to bring God together with humanity.
Here's a wild idea to consider: the "other disciple" that knew the high priest and got Peter entrance to the yard was probably John himself. He often referred to himself in his own book in the third person. Peter being questioned as "also" being a disciple might imply that John was already identified as one, but John was still respected enough to get Peter into the courtyard. If this is the case, Peter's denial is all the more crushing: he stood near another disciple and claimed no connection to Jesus. This is indeed a sad erosion of the core group of followers that Jesus had built.
We are not alone in this Kingdom that Jesus built, and neither is he. He is in the Father, and we are in the Son. We are the body of Christ, and that means we are doing the work that he started. His strength is ours, and his Father is ours.
Jesus did not come to erase the whole canon of Hebrew scripture to that point and drop in the New Testament as a replacement. He came to fulfill the Law and give it life. He was presented in the Temple according to Jewish law, and not without special recognition. This was the first of many times Jesus would show that what had God said before his birth still mattered, and that the plan was set in motion at the beginning of time.
The time is coming when what the disciples believe about Jesus will be come critical. Not just because they need to believe the things he has said, but because they need to believe that he is at the right hand of the Father, part of the trinity. This would become a radical change in worship and humanity’s view of God.
The laying out of life in the Trinity continues: Jesus has been doing the work of the Father, and the Spirit will do the work of the Son. This isn’t a hierarchy, because the members of the Trinity do not obey some ultimate high God. Rather, this is a cooperative effort, something which some have compared to a dance. The work of the Trinity is all about one purpose, and God is enfolding mankind in that purpose.
Jesus is talking about the progression of God’s plan, the coming of the Spirit, and the work that will be done by that Spirit. But the Spirit is not working alone, because the apostles, and those who will follow them, are included in that Spirit work. The Spirit works in people, but Jesus came as a person because humanity remained central to God’s plan.
Jesus as God among us is more than God showing up, it is people learning how to live in the continuing presence of God. Jesus is expressing this with the language of, “abiding,” where we do not merely show up and see God, but walk and live and breathe with God as a constant presence near us.
Jesus lets his disciples in on a very important piece of prophecy: the Spirit is coming. It's unlikely they really understood what he meant and wouldn't fully until they experienced the Spirit moving at Pentecost (spoiler!) but this was amazing inside information. The full Trinity, the God in which we find ourselves immersed today, was God's next big move in the master plan.
Jesus is God. Jesus looks like God, and God looks like Jesus. His life affirms what God looks like in a way that is real and understandable to us, so we need to let go of any vision of God that doesn’t look like Jesus. Even the apostles had a hard time understanding this, but Jesus says it plainly: “I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.” God is a Trinity in motion that includes Jesus, who is our redemption.
Jesus is just about finished turning his disciples’ vision of power upside down, but not quite: taking on the role of a servant and washing their feet is scandalous. This is why Peter tried to stop him. But Jesus, as he said elsewhere, did not come to be served but to serve. This is perfectly shown as the muddy water from his disciples’ feet rolls off his hands.
The story of Paul's conversion is an important one for many reasons. First, because it it a critical part of God's plan to reach the non-Jews. But also, it is a reminder that God's plan is never thwarted, and sometimes God brings people we'd never imagine into his work. The Christians of Paul's day would have feared him, but God made him into a key player for the cause of Christ.
Jesus is finding out what people really believe about him, and the expressions are becoming more dramatic. Mary shows the signs of a devoted follower, lavishing expensive perfume on him. The religious leaders continue to plot his death, and even extend their plans to Lazarus. Jesus has come a long way since the manger, and he has had a profound effect on those around him, both friends and enemies.
Strange that Jesus's enemies were not only powerless to stop God's plan from playing out in Jesus, but also that they strangely played a role in affirming his Lordship. Even Caiaphas, the chief priest who would come to play a leading role in the crucifixion, prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation. While he probably meant that Jesus would die to take the tension of rule under the Romans, Jesus's death certainly accomplished far more than political harmony.
“Jesus wept” may be the shortest verse of the Bible, but there’s a lot wrapped up in that moment. Jesus didn’t weep because he had messed up the healing of Lazarus and let him die, I don’t think. Several times in this passage, he says that things were happening so that those around him would believe, and they were missing the point. They were missing what he was doing because they were distracted with worrying that Jesus himself might be killed, among other things. But Jesus isn’t distracted. He’s focused, and he brings about the resurrection of Lazarus to show that God’s plan is never thwarted, no matter how bad we think things have become.
Jesus pairs his proof of being sent from the Father with his role as shepherd, which is comforting. God did not merely come as a man to distribute helpful advice, but to be among us and live love fully. This is Jesus’s role as a shepherd, and the fact that the God of the universe has come to complete that task is the best news we could receive.
Knowng that Jesus is producing some pretty impressive miracles without actually admitting his divinity is requiring some pretty deft acrobatics from his critics. He’s certainly not making things any easier by criticizing them, but the people around him need to see the difference between his Kingdom and the fear-based clutching of the Pharisees.
Has anyone ever been interrogated so much for being made better? This poor man had been blind, and instead of celebrating with him, the religious leaders interrogate him mercilessly. That’s losing some pretty important perspective: making others whole is always the business of Jesus, and it should be the most important thing.
Today's verses lined up pretty well again. In the New Testament reading, we see Peter showing belief in Jesus, confessing him as the Son of God. In Genesis, we have Sarah laughing at the thought of God's absurd promise. While neither was a perfect person and both certainly had their failures, this moment for each of them is very different, and that difference is our coming to terms with God keeping his promises. Of course, God was faithful to both people, so it's not all about us!
What an interesting pairing of verses between the Old and New Testaments today! Abraham receives God's covenant, and the circumcision for him wasn't just for himself, but for anyone in his household. That included people who weren't blood relatives. The blessing God wanted to pour out on Abraham was broad enough to be shared. Of course, the blessing itself wasn't the whole point. It wasn't intended to be some badge of exclusion. In Jesus's day, it appears that the religious leaders were more focused on the fact that they were God's special people than the blessing they were made to pass along. Good thing Jesus came to set them straight!
Jesus is being pretty plain about who who is, but it remains difficult for those in power to believe him. Where is he going that they cannot come? Into the Kingdom that he had inaugurated at his coming. It was not a place for those who didn’t believe in him, but those do should feel secure in knowing that our judge is a loving Savior.
Do you get the feeling that those around Jesus were unimpressed with him? It even seems that the seemed to think that knowing who he was made him too plain. Still, in the midst of this, there are still those who believed him. The miracles he had performed pointed to a world that was not their own, and the Kingdom was breaking through without Jesus being a showman.
As Jesus begins to fulfill the purpose for which he became God incarnate, he realizes that timing is important. He has been no stranger to controversy, and he sees how his brand of strange Kingdom is disruptive to the religious leaders. He will unveil everything at the appropriate time, but nothing can happen outside God's arrangement. All that was happening was prophesied before and the plan was playing out as God intended.
Jesus saying he was the bread of life really caused a stir, so he doubled down. He was God, and what he said was God speaking. What choice could we have but to consume it so deeply that we are consuming Jesus himself, God in flesh? It was too much for some, because they deserted him.
Jesus producing bread for people to eat may have seemed like a parallel to the manna God provided his people in the wilderness, but that's not quite true: it's Jesus himself. Those who got distracted by the miracles Jesus performed were missing the point, that the miracles point to the giving of abundant life from the God of plenty.
Jesus is about making a Kingdom in an unusual way. When he is about to be thrust into power, he disappears. When people are in need, he is there again. He doesn’t come to promote himself, but to unveil the God who has been present with his people since the beginning of time.
Who Jesus is matters, and he goes into a few reasons to believe in this verse. For something to be verified as true, it required two witnesses. Who did Jesus have? Both John and God the Father. Believing that he was the Savior was crucial in Jesus's day and remains so today.
As Jesus talks about his closeness to God the Father, we begin to see something a little more clearly: Jesus looks like God, because he is God. God has always looked like Jesus, and that's some pretty good news. As Jesus was defined by his love and compassion, so must God the Father look something like that as well.
In this week of Epiphany, we are fortunate to have two more great examples of people outside the Jewish world who come into the story of Jesus. The woman at the well becomes the first non-Jewish evangelist, and the royal official from Cana becomes the recipient of a miracle. Jesus had certainly come as part of God completing the promise to Abraham, but Jesus didn't limit himself to the Jewish nation. Just as the promise to Abraham was to increase his family, so the purpose of that covenant-- to bless the nations-- was finally coming to fruition with God's direct work.
Here on the day after Epiphany, when we remembered non-Jews who came to Jesus after his birth, it is a great follow-up to come back to the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. The Samaritans lived in a land that was once part of the Jewish nation, but broke away and then got gutted by the Assyrians. Still, many in that northern area wished to worship God, but Jerusalem remained the place of worship according the the central Jewish church. Jesus extending worship to her meant nobody would control worship but God. The Spirit would come, and did. Now we, like that woman, can all worship God at the level ground of the Cross.
Epiphany is a reminder that though Jesus came to the Jews, he was not only the Savior of the Jews. He is here for us all. Worship is also not reserved for the Jews, but for anyone who will come.
What kind of Kingdom has guys who show up and then purposely humble themselves? Those who understand that there is something more at work than the egos of men. God’s purposes are not ours, but when we understand God’s purpose, it can transform our own. So it was with John in his yielding to the Saviour.
Nicodemus may have come in the night as a sign of respect to Jesus, as opposed to debating him in the open market as some of the Jewish leaders had been known to do. Whatever his intentions, Jesus certainly gave him plenty to think about. The impression was deep, because Nicodemus would later assist Joseph of Arimathea in preparing Jesus's body for burial.
Jesus certainly did not come as a dour, lifeless person. He came to bring joy, and making wine for a wedding is certainly a great example of that. Of course, being the author of life, that wine was also going to be the best! That is the way Jesus works: life to the fullest, more than we could have imagined.
Just as God did not make Eden to exist without the fellowship of people, so Jesus did not come to be a one-man show. He called disciples, ordinary men who would play an important role in his ministry. This is kind of a wacky thing for God to do, including us. But there’s Jesus, God made man, walking among men, sharing the Kingdom by calling regular guys like Peter and Andrew to join him.
The Gospel of John was the last gospel written, and John starts with an agenda: Jesus was God, part of the Trinity from the beginning. As we also read Genesis 1 today, particularly the plural way that God refers to God’s self (in “our” image), we remember that Jesus was always God remains God, and was God from the beginning.
When I read about Jesus with the travelers to Emmaus, I love his playful approach. “What things?” he asks, as if he didn’t know what was going on. It is also appropriate that their eyes are opened when he breaks bread, because that is where we come to meet Christ to this day. Tables and fellowship are not just for friends out to dinner, but for us to commune with God.
It is fitting, here at the dying of an old year, to remember the resurrection that Jesus brings. He did not do this to show off, but to show us more deeply what he came to establish: a Kingdom not of this world, which death cannot stop. That does sound a little hard to believe if you don't have the benefit of reading the end of the story, so let's cut Peter a little slack. Probably many of us, if we were being honest, would have a hard time believing all of that too.
It seems appropriate that, as Jesus came to the place of crucifixion, someone helped him carry his cross. He had entered our world in the arms of person (Mary), he had been announced by another (John), and he was leaving his ministry in the uncertain hands of a group of men (the apostles). Now in his death, another man steps forward as God once again brings mankind into the center of his plan.
Jesus’s very innocence makes Pilate himself feel convicted. Under intense pressure from the religious powers, he eventually caves. Not, of course, before trying every way possible to get out of making the call to crucify him. Of course, Jesus was on a path set down since the beginning of the earth, and Pilate was playing a central role.
As Jesus heads through the trial which will determine his fate, he is faced with the question of his divinity. It’s strange that, even now, he doesn’t overtly say that he is the Son of God. Instead, he falls back on the statements about him by others, even his enemies. They have affirmed who he is, but in this dark hour, his disciples have still failed to recognize it.
The discussion of swords at the end of Saturday's passage and in today's passage seems really odd, doesn't it? Why does Jesus do that? He tells his disciples to get swords, but only two. Surely Jesus must have known that two swords were far less than they might need to defend themselves against a group of armed men. And perhaps that was the point: Jesus would not bring his Kingdom at the point of a sword, and he needed his followers to know that directly. Having had swords and then being told not to use them, Jesus establishes those ground rules.
Christ is born! The coming of God as a vulnerable child is revolutionary and a little bit insane. The creator of the universe, taking on the form of a creation. Wrapped and laid in an animal trough, the Son of God unveils what God is like, and it is nothing like we imagined.
As Jesus approaches the time of the cross, he continues to build a vision for a different kind of Kingdom. In this scene from the Passover, that gets flipped back to him. Passover was a time of suffering brought by God in the time of Exodus, but now Jesus becomes the one who will suffer. Just as the suffering of the Passover story is flipping upside down, so is the rest of the Kingdom: pursuing power is not the way to be the greatest, but Kingdom people should rather pursue to humbly serve as Jesus did.
Why is Jesus talking so much about the destruction of the Temple? One reason is that what he is describing is actually going to happen within the lifetimes of many who are listening. He is also inaugurating a new Kingdom, and it’s important for his followers to know that this building isn’t the central foundation of that Kingdom, but Jesus is. Even with the Temple is gone, his new Kingdom will remain.
Jesus has been building a picture of the present and future Kingdom that he brings, and this picture would have been startling: in the resurrection, the bond we have with God is so complete that marriage is no longer relevant. For those in happy marriages, this might seem like bad news. Imagine a loving God, though, and that a loving God would not change something so huge if the thing that replaced it weren't better. Direct communion with God will be just such a thing.
Jesus's verbal spars with the religious leaders always leave the religious leaders at a loss. It was no small insult to relay the parable of the tenants as well, since the religious leaders stood in defiance of those whom God sent to correct them, a parallel that would have been hard to miss in this story.
Jesus takes up a heavily prophetic role in this passage: for starters, he rides into Jerusalem on the back of a colt, almost ridiculing the practice of riding on large war horses in victory. Once he reaches the strong edifice of the city, he again works in irony, predicting that it would soon be torn down (and that is exactly what happened). All in all, if you're trying to look like a big shot, this was a major failure. Luckily, Jesus had something other than his own ego in mind: he was about bringing the Kingdom of God.
Jesus now uses money as a parable, as an example of faithfulness and faithlessness. (Be careful, money isn’t the main point!) God has established a covenant with his people through Abraham to call them his own, but that people were supposed to bless the other nations of earth. This is like the money gained by the faithful servants: God never intended his people to take the blessing and sit on it, but to pass it along.
“Lord have mercy” is a great prayer. It’s woven through both of these passages. The man who is healed asks for it directly, and Zacchaeus asks for it indirectly. The blind man has nothing to give back other than discipleship, which is a fitting response. Zacchaeus, on the other hand, receives mercy and immediately gives it back. This is a great opposite for yesterday’s passage about the rich man who couldn’t lay aside his riches.
Jesus flips the definition of “good” upside down even as he seems to shy away from the definition for himself. Pharisees and the wealthy would have certainly been highly respected in that time and place, and to say that they were less than perfect must have caused a bit of a stir. Jesus, of course, didn’t come to pat everyone on the back and assure them they were doing a good job. He came to give us the picture of a better Kingdom.
Why should anyone have been looking for more than the Jesus before them? Nonetheless, Jesus is not only the man that was among them. He will come again, and his coming will look very different. The best policy? Keep looking for him, because the Spirit remains among us.
The Kingdom Jesus brings is about give and take. None of us should only do one of those things, and we must also be careful not to live as we did before we became aware of what Jesus brings. Things will still come and cause us to stumble, but we cannot make ourselves the cause of someone else stumbling. To endure as a community in Christ, we must encourage one another and also forgive.
There is a lot to unpack in Jesus’s stories in this passage from Luke, and coming up with a single thread that runs between them might be a bit difficult. Both the passage on divorce and the story of the rich man and Lazarus point to a need to protect the vulnerable. Jewish law allowed men the right to divorce their wives, but not women their husbands. This put women in a vulnerable position, and Jesus would have certainly been an advocate for the vulnerable. So also with the story of the rich man, where Jesus once again spares no rebuke for the powerful: enjoy your riches here, but do not overlook the poor.
The story of the prodigal is probably one of the most-used parables for preachers delivering sermons. The picture is so poignant: a wayward son, taking more than he should, coming home to a father who accepts him with open arms. Pastor and author Tim Keller has an interesting take on this story, though. The word "prodigal," according to Keller has more a meaning of one who recklessly gives away money. In that case, the meaning might just as easily be assigned to the father. And of course this is accurate for who God is: lavishing his best on his children, true to his word, and always more full of love than we can imagine.
The word “hate” in terms of family shouldn’t be taken as a visceral loathing of your mother and father. Obviously, a God of Love doesn’t operate like that and wouldn’t ask us to. Instead, this is an escalated challenge to any who would follow Jesus: he comes first. Not even earthly family should come first. Of course, it’s even better for an entire family to follow Jesus together.
Jesus must have made things awkward for his hosts at times. Sitting in the house of a prominent religious leader, he breaks into a story about the futility of the very formalities among which he sat. As if that weren’t enough, he also challenged those around him to turn that very establishment upside down. That’s the Kingdom of Jesus, but it certainly wasn’t the culture of his day.
Did you know that all of Jesus’s Sabbath miracles were healing miracles? Here, when he is questioned on the matter, he compares it to being set free. Captivity is what prevents us from being who we were fully intended to be, and Jesus helps this woman get closer to that.
Jesus follows yesterday's reading about dividing families with today's about making peace on the way to court with an adversary. This is a good illustration that the Gospel sometimes take some wrestling. Good news is always good, but it's not always easy. While we certainly may find ourselves at odds with others, Jesus is still the Prince of Peace.
Jesus is speaking in this passage of some things coming surrounding his death and resurrection. The baptism he is bringing is the Holy Spirit, the same spirit that we are baptized into when we come to be part of the body of Christ. The spirit is fire, but it is a purifying fire.
Jesus takes a pretty radical approach to possessions. Where surrounding ourselves with things might be considered a mark of power in the world, it is not so in Jesus’s kingdom. He is looking to create disciples who are focused on the things of God, not distracted by the things they see around them.
Why was Jesus charging the "current generation" with the blood of the prophets? Because they reject him in the same way their ancestors rejected Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah. No lesson has been learned, and the prophetic Jesus now stands before them as proof. Even more, just like the Queen (outside the people of God) came to Solomon, so will God build his church with those outside the Jewish world. The Kingdom is on the move, and it's no place for elites.
Jesus must have had some pretty impressive power if people thought he was working for the devil. Of course, God’s power trumps the devil’s every time, but the people around him were probably speaking more out of fear of what they thought he might be able to do. It’s sometimes difficult to trust God when we sight big things happening, but just like Jesus, God’s work is always for the good.
Jesus continues building a picture for would-be disciples of what his upside-down Kingdom looks like, and it’s even crazier: now, he’s talking about Samaritans who were honorable and loving. Samaritans were hated by the people Jesus walked among, and to call one of them such things would have been shocking. So it is with Jesus: the people you think belong may not be the ones who are actually part of his plan.
Is it any wonder that Jesus sends out a larger group of disciples with nothing, and when they come back, he talks about authority? This is how the upside-down Kingdom of Jesus works. Our strength doesn’t come from power or numbers, but by learning to live in humble submission.
As Jesus approaches Jerusalem and starts coming nearer to the end of his ministry, he is more urgently putting out the call for disciples. This isn't panic, but the culmination of God's plan. Just as Jesus became a person, so will the mission of God on earth be passed into human hands when Jesus returns to the right hand of the father. No pressure, right?
I wonder if Luke purposely put together the story of the apostles not being able to drive out the demon with the story of their jealousy of someone else doing it? Obviously Jesus didn’t give them exclusive rights to do so, and he acknowledged that there were others outside their circle who were also living Kingdom lives. Hopefully we won’t make the same mistake, and think our tribe is the only group getting things right.
The way Jesus went about building a Kingdom was completely wrong in the world where he lived. Most Kingdoms were advanced by mustering troops and overpowering others. Once again, Jesus turns that paradigm upside down. Not only do his followers not go out with power, they actually go out with nothing. They are in the service of giving away, not taking.
What was it that got Jesus's attention? Ironically, it was not a storm, but the quiet faith of a woman desperately seeking him. He had to be awakened in the boat, but in the midst of a busy crowd, it was a single person, trying her best to be invisible, who instantly gained his notice.
Jesus is giving a glimpse into the abundant life if his Kingdom. Being able to see and hear with our spiritual eyes and ears comes only with the work of the Spirit, and our training among our brothers and sisters. Learning to hear God takes some effort on our part, but God will respond with more than we can imagine.
The woman who enters the Pharisee’s house to honor Jesus really puts herself on the line. To be known as a disreputable woman, to enter the house of a religious leader, and then to touch Jesus: she is clearly far less concerned about what people think than she is of what Jesus can do. That kind of reckless abandon was honored by Jesus, and it seems that he considers her a better disciple than the Pharisee himself.
Jesus came to bring his Kingdom to earth, but he did it through people. John was one of those, and John showed his own humanity when he sent his followers to make sure Jesus was the real deal. How did Jesus prove it? Not by setting fire to bulls as Elijah did, not by parting a sea as Moses did. He proved his identity by pointing to the upside-down Kingdom that he came to bring, of which we are part.
The upside-down Kingdom of Jesus continues to come into view with unexpected people. This time, a centurion. It sounds like he was a good man, respectful of the Jewish religion, but he was still an outsider. He wasn’t a Jew, and his reluctance to have Jesus come to his house is a reflection of the Jewish attitude toward people like him. Yet, Jesus decides to hold him up as an example of faith. So it is with the community that Jesus gave us: don’t think you know who’s in or out, because you might be wrong.
The Kingdom of God is upside down. This list of blessings and woes isn’t absolute (it is doubtful that Jesus would want to literally starve out everyone who had recently had a good meal) but is a prophetic glimpse into what’s possible with this new Kingdom. The poor are rich, nobody is devalued. Enemies are loved, and money doesn’t hold control over us. It’s a wild way to approach the world, and only Jesus could pull that off.
When you are a Pharisee, the Sabbath is all about making sure you don’t break any of the rules for resting on the Sabbath. For Jesus, it was about finding wholeness through rest, and giving it to others. If he was Lord of the Sabbath (and he said he was), then his rule overrides the law. How ironic. The one who came to give life to the law does so by appearing to break it.
The religious leaders really had to work hard at missing what Jesus was doing. He’s healing people, making them walk again, and the Pharisees are spending their time worrying about fasting. Obviously, they had missed the point of the holiness that Jesus carried with him, which was the reason the apostles didn’t need to worry about pursuing holiness, because it had found them.
It's amazing how Peter's tune changes once Jesus shows his power. At first, Peter almost seems exasperated because Jesus doesn't understand how to fish. Then Peter sees that fishing isn't the point, that Jesus has a much bigger picture in mind. Such is the way of things when our perspective gets changed to God's: the things that we thought were important may not be, and our eyes may be opened to a much larger world.
Jesus brought wholeness with him and shared it with others, healing the things that make them less than whole. Evil thrives where wholeness doesn’t, because evil can only ever be a twisted version of what is true. The evil spirits recognized Jesus, because they could see his Godhood, and his authority always rose above theirs.
Jesus didn’t walk a straight line from the manger to his ministry. He went through testing and temptation, just the same as we do. Perhaps this was one of the points of God taking on flesh: not just to show us what God looks like, but to show us what we could look like. Under pressure, he kept focused on his mission.
This list of names isn’t without a myriad of stories. David, Jacob, Boaz, Judah, Abraham… the list goes on. Because Jesus had an earthly family, he had the influence of those generations before him. And of course, as the Son of God, he was the culmination of the promises God made through those generations, now coming true in the Messiah.
John the Baptist does more than tell people that Jesus is coming, he prepares the people to hear what Jesus is going to do. Tax collectors and soldiers would continue being part of the story, highly outside the religious circles of proper Jewish holiness. And of course, that’s exactly what Jesus would do: expand the Kingdom to the least likely, the very people who were coming to hear John.
Is it any coincidence that so many of the significant events in Jesus's early life took place in the temple? This was where God's presence was the focus in that time, and it is appropriate for God's presence among people to be significant in that place. From the older generations expecting his arrival to the conversations he had with the teachers, Jesus wasn't just about the business of God. He WAS the business of God.
As God’s plan for a Messiah unfolds, it continues to be among the least expected of people. Shepherds, common laborers, would have hardly been anyone’s first choice for a royal entourage. Not so in God’s Kingdom. Everything is upside down, so big news often starts among people most would consider small.
The praise offered by Zechariah at John's birth (his first words in quite some time!) were important because they foreshadowed both John's role in God's plan and the part Jesus himself would play in salvation. It's fitting that he should use his first spoken words to praise God and lay this out. Perhaps the time he spent in silence was valuable in showing him these things?
God's plan for a Messiah was very much rooted in people. That is true even before the Messiah was born, and the preparations made for Mary. How exciting it must have been not only for Mary to bear God's Son, but also to share with a family member who was also living through something miraculous. God made Mary a community of empathetic supporters who had personally experienced a piece of the miracle she shared, and would walk beside her as she participated in this amazing part of God's plan.
The season of advent is just a little way off now, and our readings from Luke will give us a sneak peek of where we're heading. We'll be talking a lot about waiting, and Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, is probably one of the best archetypes of that action. Not only was he anticipating a promised child in his family, he was doing it in silence. The work of the priests included a lot of talking, so Zechariah wasn't able to do much of his work during this period. This would give him plenty of time to think about the miracle God was about to work in his life.
Jesus's resurrection means everything. It means his lordship, and it means he sets the stage for what our own future will look like: a new heaven and earth, resurrected as he was.
Those watching the cross mocked Jesus, challenging him to save himself. Of course, salvation was exactly what he had in mind. Not his own, but theirs. This death would change things, and those who had been far from God would find themselves brought close, as God came close to them.
Failure is hard to live with sometimes. Peter is failing in this verse, right at the time when the chips are down. Jesus predicted that he would do so. What's interesting about that part of the story being found in the book of Mark is that many scholars believe Peter may have actually sat with Mark to create this Gospel. If that is true, then Peter is choosing to tell this part of his own story because it matters. Failure matters, not because it's something to get past quickly, but because failure has its own set of lessons.
The intention of the faithful disciples is not matched by their commitment once they get to the garden and Jesus needs them to stay awake. Judas, however, is having no trouble staying up late. If the unfaithful disciples had stayed as committed as the betrayer, what might they have seen? What was it that Jesus wanted them to watch for? Perhaps it was the people coming for him, but this was no surprise. Jesus knew what was coming. Perhaps he just wanted them to observe him in prayer, wrestling with the will of the Father.
The Passover and Festival of Unleavened Bread marked the time when God was preparing Israel for their deliverance from Egypt long before the time of Jesus, and as Jesus is anointed for burial and his betrayer moves into place, God is preparing for delivery again. Only this time, it will not be Israel alone. The same God who was present with Moses and the children of Israel in Egypt is on the move for the whole world, in a grand plan of redemption.
Jesus foresees the destruction of the Temple, which occurs only a few decades after his life. But in place of that earthly Temple, the place the disciples admired, a new temple will come: himself. This temple cannot be torn down by people, but remains the center of our worship today.
Between the stories of the widow who gave all her money and the prophecy that the Temple would fall (which did happen), Jesus offers his disciples a very different priority for the things we see as valuable. While the Temple would have been a point of great pride for the people of that day, Jesus doesn’t get caught up in that. He rather turns his attention to a person who gives sacrificially, because she understands what the Kingdom of God looks like more fully.
Money is so near and dear to us that we place too much importance on it at times. It was no different in Jesus's time. The money question posed by the religious leaders showed that money was at the top of their list of concerns, but Jesus flips their question on them. Give the money to the powers of this world, but give your love to God and those who bear God's image.
It seems that Jesus is refusing to answer the question about "by whose authority" he works, but it appears that he might actually tell them. Though he doesn't say it directly, he comes back with a parable about a master sending a son to wicked tenants. The son is there under the authority of the master, and the tenants respond violently. Not only does this establish Jesus' authority, but it also establishes the intentions of those who have challenged him.
A lot of symbolism is happening in these passages. Jesus riding on a donkey is a parody of the Roman victory parades, where the victors rode through the town on giant war horses. The withering of the fig tree (which wasn’t producing fruit anyway) was symbolic of God removing authority from those who had been producing no spiritual fruit, only using their position to oppress others. It was the coming together of Jesus disarming the traditional powers, and the end result would be a humble king in power.
Our verse from Revelation, in honor of All Saints Day, reminds us that judgement belongs to Jesus because all righteousness belongs to Jesus. There is none more fit to bring justice to the new earth than one who has walked it, and we are his people. Even if we have suffered, our salvation and our future is secure with him.
James and John asked to sit in positions of esteem with Jesus, which wasn't the kind of work Jesus was about. Over and over, even using the visual aid of a child, he tried to show his followers how glory looks in the Kingdom of God. Ironically, according to Christian tradition, James may have been the first apostle to die, and John may have been the last. The positions of importance they both sought certainly didn't look like what they were chasing, but they eventually became the kind of disciples Jesus tried to model.
The earlier lesson with the children must not have sunk in. Why are the disciples trying to keep them from Jesus? Maybe they thought he had more important things to do, but that was very much not the case. Before that, though, we have this piece on divorce. This might be hard for some of you to swallow. (I myself am divorced.) In the first-century context, divorce was about more than two people who didn't want to be married anymore, or one person who wished to leave another. According to Bruce Malina and Richard Rohrbaugh's social-scientific commentary on the Synoptic Gospels, this was more an issue of family. Marriages brought families together, divorces split them. This could result in feuding families and disharmony among the community. Additionally, remember that Jesus was talking to the Pharisees. They asked him a legalistic question, so he gave them a legalistic answer. They weren't our for a pastor, they were out for a debate. It can be argued that Jesus definitely won.
Putting a child among a group of disciples who were trying to establish who was the greatest was a strategic move. Children really have no power of their own. It was more true in Jesus’s day, and it remains true today. They need to be cared for, fed, and guided. Ironically, this is not unlike what the disciples needed, and Jesus didn’t want them to forget that.
Jesus had a wide range of reactions from his disciples. From Peter’s attempt to build altars to the missed opportunity due to missed prayer when they returned, there really was a lot of variation in how much the apostles picked up what Jesus was teaching. All of us have probably been on both ends if we have been following Jesus for very long. Some days you are on the mountaintop, others you are failing in the valley. At all times, we should still remain disciples.
Sometimes, Jesus really was frustrated. There’s nothing ungodly about that. This was one of those times, and his disciples were causing that frustration. He wanted them to get the essence of who he was. The Son of God. The Messiah. The miracle maker; the Way, the Truth, and the Life. While it needed to be hidden from the general public so that Jesus could complete the work of his ministry, it needed to obvious to them.
The woman with the demon-possessed daughter seems to be challenged by Jesus, but she doesn't back down. The payoff is good, and her daughter is healed. Jesus seems to honor this behavior and so should we: someone who is diligent in their faith is worth hearing, and their diligence is honored by God.
Remember that Jesus didn’t come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. That’s important to note in times where Jesus comes into open conflict with those who are keeping the law. Jesus wasn’t criticizing the Law itself, but the lack of attention to inward things instead of outward. This is the critical need that Jesus filled: the Law needed life to be understood, and that life was his own.
Jesus doesn’t always handle the same issue in the same way. A couple chapters ago, he responded to the storm by going to sleep, refusing to be disturbed by the squall. This time he walks on the water in the midst of the storm, and his presence is enough to make the storm stop. The common element is Jesus, and certainly he is enough to quiet the storm in any circumstance.
If Jesus was trying to build a dominating kingdom, he was doing a pretty bad job. (Of course, he wasn’t.) He failed to gain fame in his own hometown, and he sent his disciples out to be dependent on others for help. Of course, all of this pointed to the very different kind of Kingdom that Jesus was seeking to build: a community that sought to serve one another rather than rule; to be humble rather than oppressive.
Lest we think that every Jewish leader uniformly opposed Jesus (there have been stories of a lot of them doing that in the past few weeks), we have this man Jairus, to show that God worked among the Jewish leaders as well. Jairus came to Jesus to save his daughter, which was of no small consequence. Jesus comes to the man's aid but is distracted on the way by the woman who has been labeled impure by her community. It's a great range of peopel in Jesus's path: both the temple leader who would have worked hard to keep himself ritually pure and the woman with no ability to make herself so.
Jesus came to bring wholeness, and he came to bring peace. He showed the meaning peace by sleeping in the front of a boat during a storm, and he showed wholeness by giving it to the demon-possessed man. In. Both cases, the circumstances didn’t change Jesus, but he brought the spirit of God into the circumstances to change them. That same spirit is among us today.
Jesus is using several illustrations to talk about receiving the word, each with its own small nuance. Not all are ready to receive, and not all have the same reaction after receiving. Jesus's way is not an easy one, or it would be easy. God prepares the hearts of those who encounter the word, just as he delivers the word itself to them.
Two things were among the most important to the culture of Jesus's time: honor and family. Jesus was being accused of having an impure spirit (a goofy claim that he immediately debunked), but his family probably perceived that he was causing them shame by being subject to such a claim. To this Jesus made a pretty radical claim: his family was a new one, formed by God. How his earthly family would have taken this comment is unclear, but it probably wouldn't have made them very happy. For those around him, though, it was the early sign of a greater Kingdom: being part of the family of God.
God made the Sabbath as a day of rest, a gift to those made in God’s image. It’s meant to be a time of wholeness and healing, not anxiety. Jesus knew this, which is why he was happy to make people whole on the Sabbath by healing them. Perhaps if the religious leaders had been more concerned about wholeness, they might have been bending a few rules themselves.
Jesus's presence changes everything. He inspires people to break through literal barriers to get to him, and he goes out of his way to spend time with those who may have been barred from entering God's house before his arrival. His disciples had a front row seat for the new Kingdom he brought, and their walk with him daily was nothing less than practicing God's presence.
The passages from Maccabees and Mark are an excellent comparison of what the Jewish people might have been expecting, even hoping for, versus what Jesus delivered. The period of the Maccabees was not long before Jesus, so a military leader to bring back the old glory days (especially under the oppression of Rome, who was a military power) would have been a great hope of the people around Jesus. Of course, that's not what he did. He didn't want to draw too much attention, because he wanted to be able to move about the small villages freely. He did heal people, but it was almost as if the pleas for healing from the crowd interfered with the time he had for preaching. The news of the Kingdom of God was his real objective, because to understand God is to understand real wholeness.
Even the Son of God doesn’t do ministry alone. This should be a lesson to us. He went and found people who were willing to follow him — with abandon — and those would be the people he would use to change the world.
Many scholars believe Mark's gospel may have been the first one written, and he jumps directly into Jesus's ministry. In these first 13 verses, we have already been through John the Baptist's declaration, Jesus's baptism, and his time in the desert. While it was fast-tracked in Mark, these are formational events. God included a final prophet (John) to prepare the way (as many others had done before him), Jesus showed us that baptism is integral, and he went through the formation of the desert's emptiness before his ministry started.
The resurrection of Jesus means everything. It means that what Jesus said about himself was true, that he is trustworthy as a messenger of God, and that we will one day follow him into resurrection. It is a seal on the promise that God made to Abraham, and the promise is extended to all who believe. Because of the resurrection, everything is different.
The crucifixion of Jesus is part of a pivotal set of events defining the core of Christian beliefs. In that moment, sin lost its hold on mankind. As it was happening, however, the set of events were agonizing. Jesus suffered physical pain and the pain of rejection, but God's plan was being fulfilled. If this were the end of the story, it would be truly tragic. Luckily, it's not.
If Pilate thought he was letting himself off the hook by trying to substitute Jesus for a known violent criminal, he had another thing coming. The crowd wasn't having it. The religious leaders were able to drive the fury of the crowd against him. In the midst of this scene, they say something pretty poignant. "Let his blood be on us and on our children." Indeed it was, but not in the way they imagined. It was the blood of a forgiving savior, cleansing his enemies.
How odd that at this moment, the only person who is saying that Jesus is the Messiah is one of his enemies. Peter isn't because suddenly he sees how dangerous it is to be aligned with Jesus. Not even Jesus himself is doing so, but he seems to capitalize on the moment when the high priest brings it up. Could it be that Jesus was joining the high priest in confirming his identity, creating two witnesses in a similar way to the two witnesses who testified against him? Jewish law actually required this two-witness confirmation to establish something as fact, so maybe so!
Sometimes the challenge really is just to stay awake. Jesus used a parable of ten virgins staying awake in anticipation for the bridegroom. Now he challenges the apostles, as the crowd approaches him for arrest, to stay awake. Jesus is doing the work here, he is doing the praying. They’re not even called to do that, but just to be alert and observe.
Jesus is moving with intention now. God’s plan isn’t being foiled with the betrayal of Judas looming, but will put Jesus in exactly the place he needs to be. The plan is God’s, the sacrifice is also God’s. Jesus is about to establish a new covenant just as a covenant was established with Abraham, and the initiative has always been God’s. We are drawn into that mystery.
Jesus has harsh words for those who do not care for others. It’s an interesting pairing with the verse from Malachi today as well, with the people of God called out for being stingy with their giving. Both of these together give us a strong truth: the Kingdom of God is not made for lone wolves, and it should be a place of refuge for the poor. Giving is in God’s nature, and if we are mirroring Christ, our nature should also be generous and hospitable.
Faithfulness is one of the main things for which we are responsible in the Kingdom of God. Notice, though, that in the story of the master handing out money, the money is still the master’s. God gives, and we are steward of that which is God’s. Perhaps that is the main difference between the servants who handled the money well: they handled their portion with love and gratitude, and the only thing in the mind of the third servant was fear. Fear of god should not cripple us, but rather remind us that God is worthy of worship.
A lot of this verse is often brought into discussions about the end times, but there was certainly a closer prediction to Jesus's time: the destruction of the temple and the siege of Jerusalem. It was about 40 years after Jesus's death that it happened, and it would have been a catastrophic event in the lives of many who were hearing Jesus. In the midst of such disaster, what is our command? As always, we are to be faithful and follow him.
Jesus is talking about the destruction of the temple and a time of hardship around Jerusalem, and there’s nothing metaphorical about this. It happened. Within 100 years of Jesus’s death, the temple would be destroyed, false messiahs would appear (and be confirmed by respected religious leaders) and things would get bad for those living in the area. The alternative could be taking Jesus at his word, following him in his way of living, and avoiding that path. Of course, not ever one did believe and those hard times are on the horizon.
Remember how yesterday, Jesus was talking to his followers about how chasing power and position wasn’t a quality of those in his Kingdom? Today he turns to those religious leaders among the crowd who WERE chasing power and prestige. They were using religion, the name of God, to do so. They set themselves above the people they led, and criticized those around them without paying attention to their own walk. Jesus wasn’t having this. He called it out directly, with multiple scathing words.
The Kingdom of Jesus really is upside down. So much so, it makes no sense to jockey for position. How can we seek a title of authority when we are trying to serve others? Jesus is our teacher, and God is our Father. It’s a wild reorganization and defies our own logic, but we have the Spirit to guide us.
Jesus uses the illustration of a story to show that God has invited people other than the religious elites into the new Kingdom, and the religious elites respond by ENTIRELY missing the point, pivoting to ask him if people will even be married in the afterlife. That's pretty classic play when someone is confronted. Be sure that if you're changing the subject, it's not because you're guilty of missing the real point!
It's fascinating that the religious leaders could condemn neither Jesus nor John because the people held both of them as prophets. Of course, Jesus also held the people in higher esteem than those leaders: he said the leaders would enter the Kingdom after some of the rabble that the religious considered outsiders. He was setting a new standard to enter a new place, and the rules all centered on him.
The significance of Jesus riding on a donkey (in both the Old and New Testament passages today!) should not be missed. In Jesus's day, victors rode into town on the largest horse they could find. It was a symbol of their bigness over the smallness of those they had conquered. Jesus went the other way, riding a young donkey. It was almost absurd. It was also a sign of how the Kingdom of Jesus is different: we need not destroy others, we instead need to serve others.
It seems that nobody fully understand the darkness that is descending upon Jesus's light. His sacrifice isn't metaphorical or figurative, but it's really going to happen to him. Ever after he says this, James and John are recommended for high positions to Jesus by their mother. Surely, someone who understood where Jesus was heading wouldn't have requested this. Be patient with them, though. They will come to understand, and sometimes we are just as slow.
The word "fair" isn't exactly part of God's vocabulary. If God handed out what we deserve, none of us would be left standing. Instead, God gives grace to all who will come, and that is an amount set by God's judgement. If we start trying to figure out whether or not we think it's fair, we're certainly putting ourselves on the wrong side if the judge's chair.
In Jesus' time, women didn't have a lot of power. The need to hold families together was not only preserving marriages, but preserving the livelihood of women. He points that out with the "hard heart" condition given for divorces-- it was not because God wanted things to be that way. This was particularly poignant because he was talking to a group of men in power, testing him.
To make a radically different community like the Kingdom of Jesus, members of that community have to be diligent at keeping unity. When things are done to harm other members of that community, the community takes action to make them whole. All along, each of us must remember that we have all been forgiven much, and forgiveness is essential to be passed along as part of our bond in the Spirit.
Becoming like a little child may take some work. It doesn’t mean gaining power and notoriety, but being vulnerable and powerless. This is what children were in Jesus’ time, and it was what he challenged his disciples to be on many occasions. Children also need to depend on their parents for all their needs, and so also did Jesus want to teach that we must depend on God.
Jesus being present with Moses and Elijah is a pretty big deal. Moses represents the law, and Elijah represents the prophets. These were huge pillars in the Jewish world. But then they are gone, leaving only Jesus. He didn't dissolve the other two, so that they no longer exist. They were his predecessors, just as John the Baptist was as well. Jesus didn't destroy any of that, but fulfilled them both and gave them life.
Why did Jesus rebuke Peter? Did he have a death wish that he was eager to get to? I doubt it. Jesus was working out the purposes of his Father, and the purposes of God are always for the best. Peter was being a bit short-sided, but his heart was in the right place. He didn't want to see Jesus die, because of course Jesus being alive was better from his point of view. God's point of view may not always make sense, but if it did... we would probably be God!
The poor disciples. They missed it again. Jesus is bringing wholeness to those around him arguing with the religious leaders, and the disciples still miss the point. Maybe this is the drawback from Jesus’s choice not to to take all the star pupils out of rabbinic school, but don’t give up on them yet. They will understand. Probably many of us have had the same issue.
The Pharisees seem to be holding an unflinching line on purity laws (hence their comment about the disciples washing their hands), a clear connection to their strict adherence to the law. Jesus, however, points out that a law about honoring parents receives some flexibility to preserve the spirit instead of the strict letter of the law. Jesus himself came to BRING that spirit, so trying to subvert it, even its presence in the law, is to miss the life that Jesus came to bring.
As John’s ministry sadly comes to an end, Jesus begins to very much come into a next-level ministry. As John was broken and the Gospel increased, so was the bread broken and increased when Jesus met the crowd on the hill. It’s no small thing that the apostles were told to feed the people, and came up with a meager amount of food. Jesus didn’t scold them, he just made it more. As we are broken, coming to God sometimes with very little, so can we be empowered if we’re disciples of the Kingdom.
Jesus was notable enough that people realized he was exceptional for a man of such average birth. That certainly seems to work against them, however. Jesus is right there among them, the Son of God incarnate, and all they can see is the carpenter’s Son, the brother of his siblings. Too much familiarity can keep us from seeing the exceptional, and those around Jesus suffered with the same thing.
Judgement rests with God alone, and so the parable of the weeds and the seeds is a somewhat difficult one. We are certainly tempted to do that work for God: judging others, we separate ourselves from them when they seem opposed to us. God alone sees the heart, however. Those who seem to be against us may only have a personality conflict, or perhaps we both have theology that needs fine-tuning. Only by both sides trusting the Spirit can we find the true unity of Christ.
Jesus mixed up his teaching style to reach many different types of learners. This makes the parable of the seeds full of meaning: not only was Jesus teaching, he was talking about the different ways the very message he was preaching is received. It was made to be available to all, and that came true fully with Jesus walking among us.
To stand before the religious leaders and defy them was gutsy. Jesus did more than defy them, though. He called them wicked, bad trees with bad fruit. The Pharisees were a sect focused on keeping purity, so this would have been a major insult. By attempting to control the people and their relationship with God, they had actually gotten further from God themselves. A good solution might be to learn how to bring wholeness instead of condemning every minor behavior, but that's a hard lesson to learn when you're committed to legalism.
This episode in the temple gives Jesus a prime example of what new life in him means: while the law is not erased, it receives its life through him. Where as before, Sabbath laws were focused on keeping a strict set of rules, Jesus brings wholeness. The law was good to give boundaries and show God’s people where they should draw lines, but Jesus lives out a fuller life. Bringing wholeness to the world, even on a day of rest, is never out of bounds for him.
There are no lone wolves in the Kingdom of Christ, not even Jesus himself. John comes before Jesus, and John is part of the plan. Then Jesus comes, but Jesus is working with the Father, even revealing the Father. This is a rare form of community: not only does everyone belong, but we are heirs with the very Savior who we worship.
Remember that Jesus was sending out his apostles seemingly empty-handed? Now we discover the encouraging part of that charge: they are to be treated as someone would treat him. Even today, we remain Christ’s ambassadors if we are carrying on his life. We are valuable to him as more than vessels, though. We are co-laborers with God in this great undertaking.
The way Jesus equipped his disciples seems like madness. Go with nothing? Not even an extra shirt? None of us would even go on an overnight trip to see a relative under such circumstances, and yet Jesus sent his followers out on mission in this way. Why was that? Maybe because the Kingdom of Jesus isn’t about ruling others, but about a race to the bottom. To be a servant of all, we must certainly take a very radical approach to that which we are accustomed.
Jesus came to bring wholeness, and that spirit traveled with him so powerfully that it healed even those who touched him. (One woman, anyway.) This is a great picture of the life of Jesus: it was a life so full, it brought fullness of lives to those with whom he came in contact.
You have to love the inclusion of Matthew’s houseguests in his gospel. It was all the wrong people, according to the proper decorum for religious leaders. You get the feeling that Matthew just invited the people he usually spends time with, and Jesus came right to the middle of one of Matthew’s regular parties. It was so upsetting, that those who knew the more acceptable type of people called him out for it. Of course, Jesus was exactly where he intended to be. He was with the people he came to reach out to: those willing to reach back to him.
Sometimes, even when Jesus brings good things to his community, it's really inconvenient to those around him. Such is the case with the pig herders, and that (plus their loss of income) was probably why they wanted him to leave. It's reasonable. But the thing that was going on that they missed was worth catching, even if it came at great cost.
Jesus is building a different kind of Kingdom. In this one, the wounded are restored, the outsider is welcome, and those who think all they require is a family name may find themselves as the outsiders. It’s a radical inclusion that was unique to Jesus, and there is still nothing like it.
The Kingdom of Jesus is very different from the kingdoms formed by us. In that Kingdom, there is plenty to go around, goodness flows between its citizens, and God is judge of all. It’s not an easy place to be a citizen of, because we have to learn to lay aside the notions we have about the way we would make it. Once we learn to live there, and keep practicing the life of that Kingdom, we will find ourselves standing in the presence of God, and God is unshakable.
Those who become citizens of the Kingdom of Jesus will learn to think a different way. By setting their minds on things above, they will stop focusing so much on the things that concerned them before their citizenship. Jesus talks about food and clothing, which are two of the most fundamental needs we have. What would it be like to be more focused on God than on our basic needs? It would be like Jesus.
Our audience for worship and piety should be God alone. To use it as a prop for our own reputation and become a holy braggart is NOT the objective. As Jesus says, people who use holiness as a way to be seen by others have received their reward: the praise of others. But we should not seek out the praise of others, only the eye of God. Even then, it is not our righteousness that catches God’s eye, because Jesus just told us that we are all steeped in sin. Instead, it is the worship of God that connects us to our Heavenly Father.
Jesus seems to be making it HARDER to be holy. Why do that? It is because following the letter of the law is not the way to salvation. We are all sinners, in dire need of grace. When we become convinced of our own special holiness, we lose sight of that. Our best hope is to realize that we do nothing to save ourselves, and lean on the love of God as our salvation.
The Sermon on the Mount is some of Jesus’s cornerstone teaching. It is not meant as some kind of checklist.. “be poor in Sprit, be pure in heart, etc.” but as an endorsement of the least among the people. This is why it is connected to having greater righteousness than the Pharisees (and notice that he said that the Law still stands). Having greater righteousness of the Pharisees is not about policing the Kingdom, it is about following the leader of that Kingdom.
Jesus begins his ministry by spending time in the desert, confronted by the devil. This was necessary because the time Jesus spent with the Father was the defining trait of the life he showed us. He was often slipping away to spend time in prayer and fellowship with the Father, and this enabled the rest of his work to have its impact.
Just as Joseph played an important role by guiding his family through dangerous times, so John also plays an important role by preparing the way for Jesus and then baptizing him. But why did Jesus need to be baptized? He had no sin to confess, and he didn’t need to accept himself as Saviour. Perhaps it was because just as he would eventually go before us in resurrection, now he goes before us in the baptism that brings all of us into the life of the Spirit. If we follow the path that Jesus set for us, we certainly can’t go wrong.
Joseph was more than a passive observer, sitting on the sidelines watching Mary raise the Son of God. He had dreams that kept his family safe, and that makes him a pretty important person in this story. And not only was the title family safe from murderous rulers, he was also causing prophecy to be fulfilled as he went.
It was important for Joseph to accept Jesus as his son. Not only because the child Jesus needed a father for practical reasons, but also to pass on the birthright of David. The genealogy we read yesterday would be a moot point without Joseph taking this measure. If you think back to the situation of Jacob and Esau where Esau gave away his own birthright for a bowl of beans, the passing of a family heritage was a pretty big deal in Bible times. By taking this step, Joseph, though not Jesus's biological father, included Jesus in his own family line, connected back to David.
Reading Jesus’s genealogy tells us two things. First, that he was indeed a real person, with real people in his family line. Second, it tells us that these people were not all saints. Looking through that list, there are prostitutes and scoundrels, nobles and villains. At the end of it, though, is Jesus. From plain people, all kinds of them, God can bring the greatest results. It’s fortunate that the work is not up to us, but remains God’s through the ages.
Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him, a mirror of the three denials of Peter at Jesus’s arrest. It was important for Peter to know that he was reinstated before his Lord. Much would be asked of him in the coming years, including the death to which Jesus was alluding. Indeed he was back in the good graces of Jesus, and never left.
Resurrection is the thing which finally proves, beyond a doubt, that Jesus was who he claimed to be. Not only that he himself was raised from the dead, but that he shows us our own future. It is also encouraging that, in this passage, he had compassion on Thomas. Even those slow to believe are not left behind.
That Jesus was laid in a tomb belonging to someone else is highly appropriate. His birth also occurred in a place other than his home, and he owned almost nothing. Jesus embraced worldly poverty because his wealth was truly in a Kingdom other than this world. Because of this, no follower of Jesus will ever think it’s too hard to follow Jesus because they don’t have enough money. Jesus’s house will not be bigger than our houses. The way is open to follow Jesus into a place only he can take us, and that is his Kingdom.
Pilate doggedly insists on calling Jesus, “king.” Of course he is right. It’s interesting, now, how the roles begin to reverse between the Roman state and the religious state in Jerusalem. Pilate calls Jesus a king, but the religious state insists on the deaths of not only Jesus, but the criminals with him. Pilate has tried to show mercy, but the religious state will show none. People are not perfect. We are not always doing the perfect will of God, not even if it is supposed to be our profession.
There is a lot of meaningful overlap happening in this trial of Jesus. The Jewish leaders take him to a government leader, who recognizes that he is a king. Jesus, who cannot be so easily defined, talks instead about the Kingdom itself. Would Pilate have been so tentative about executing him if he didn’t recognize something unique about him? At the end, the people prefer a man of violence, Barabbas, to the Prince of Peace. It’s probably no coincidence that John mentions Barabbas was involved in an uprising. For indeed, that is exactly what Jesus was doing as well. In the case of Jesus, it was far more hidden. It would play out in his death, and then it would be unstoppable.
As Jesus starts the road to the cross, his followers are also tested. Peter’s denial is a sad central part of this story, especially since Peter is often the one that pipes up and swears that he will die with Jesus. When the chips are down, he loses his nerve. Don’t worry, though. Jesus will come back to him, and the story isn’t over yet.
Jesus is preparing the next stage of God's plan for the world: the passing of the torch to his apostles and the church. Of course, he is not leaving them alone. They are part of God's plan, and so God is with them. This was always the plan, there is no plan B.
Jesus needs his apostles to clearly understand what is about to happen to him and to them, so it’s time to be clear. He has been talking about the Spirit, but the coming of the Spirit is contingent on him returning to the Father. They will be caught up themselves in the Trinity, because the Spirit will be among and in them, and the Father will sustain them.
If you want to know what the Holy Spirit is all about, the section is for you. Revealing that Jesus is true, that the Father and Son are working together, and that God will always reign. This Spirit, coming at Pentecost, was and is the presence of God among us. Just as those who saw Jesus in the flesh had the physical Son of God, we still today have the Spirit of God in and around us. We are his people, and we remain connected to him.
Jesus has stern words for the religious leaders who reject him. This is probably one of the worst: by rejecting him, they reject the Father. They have fully rejected God. This is a turn from what he has just finished talking about, where he reminded his hearers that they need to abide in him. This is the opposite side of the coin: not only are the religious leaders rejecting him, refusing to abide, but they are also in sin because of their rejection.
Being pruned requires submission, and we all must be pruned by the Father if we are to abide in Christ. Love also requires submission to one another, both for accountability and being in real relationships. All of this means that we cannot be selfish, and life in the Kingdom of Christ is certainly an unselfish life. By staying connected to Christ and one another, we stay on the critical path to follow Christ.
Jesus and the Father are united in a bond of love, and this is the bond in which we are caught up if we are participating in the Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are intertwined, but we are also caught up in that mystery as followers of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is in us, and the Holy Spirit is also in the Trinity. We are part of God if we are following Jesus in the Spirit.
Jesus is in the Father, and everyone who is in Jesus is caught up in the entire Trinity. What does that mean? Of course, there is some mystery in this. The bond between the Father and Son (and Spirit) is not something of our world, this is the stuff of another world. Still, we are residents of that Kingdom. Being in Christ means walking with Jesus, remaining connected in prayer, praying to the Father, through the Spirit, in the name of the Son. We are part of a royal priesthood that is both rooted in that Kingdom, and working in our world.
Jesus is demonstrating, as he washes the feet of his disciples, that the greatest among them (definitely him!) should be willing to serve all the rest. None of them are higher than Jesus, and none of them have ever stooped lower than he is in that moment. So much so, it alarms Peter. As Jesus tells them that they should love one another, that is the completion of the thought: putting the other first, never shoving ahead to get your own way. It Jesus can do that, we should be able to as well.
As Jesus’s time is fully come, he is drawing ever closer to the Father. He is fulfilling the purpose he has been about with the Father, and as he gets closer to the cross, he also gets closer to the Father. Prophecy is being fulfilled, and people are being divided. Those who are with Jesus are also with the Father, because nobody was closer to God the Father than Jesus in this time of deep purpose.
The power of resurrection was with Jesus even before he Himself rose from the dead. Lazarus’s resurrection was such a powerful attraction to the work of God that Jesus’s enemies wanted to kill him! This was a preview of the resurrection that was to come, because Jesus would prove himself as Lord and true Son of God by returning from the dead as the prophecies about him predicted.
It's odd that the high priest should say he would give Jesus up to save the people, not realizing that the Son of God would indeed sacrifice himself to do just that. The plans of God are not thwarted, and Jesus was part of that plan. Though his divinity couldn't be seen by all those around him, he would achieve the purpose he came for. Sometimes that happens even through his enemies playing a part.
The entire story of Lazarus being raised seems filled with intention from Jesus to perform a resurrection to show God’s glory, and maybe even a preview of his own future. Certainly, resurrection is what all of us who follow Jesus have to look forward to, and Jesus seems more focused on that than the facts of a funeral. Of course, if you knew you were about to raise the dead person, the funeral doesn’t matter much. In the midst of this miracle, those around him are missing what’s going on. Some want him to do tricks, some are mad at him. Some think he’s going to be killed himself. Perhaps all this distraction and missing what God was doing right in front of them was why he wept.
Jesus is again at a festival, and this one commemorates the deliverance of Israel by force by the Maccabees, a violent uprising that gave them the Festival of Dedication (dedicating the new temple after that deliverance). In this time, a true deliverer appears, Jesus himself. He compares himself to a shepherd who cares for his flock, which of course is his form of deliverance contrasted against the violent deliverance of Israel’s past. How do the leaders respond? By trying again to execute violence on him.
Jesus continues his rebuke of the religious leaders who have criticized a blind man who has been healed. In yesterday’s passage, he said they were the blind ones. Today, he takes it a step farther: he says that he is the gateway, and anyone who goes another way is mistaken in their approach. His love for the sheep certainly sets him apart from these leaders, and their treatment of this healed man is pretty solid evidence of that. Thank goodness, by the end, a few start to realize that the healing itself is a pretty good proof of who Jesus is.
What a time for an interrogation! A man miraculously healed, now questioned over and over by the very people who should be happy for him, praising God for the miracle. That’s a true tragedy: not just that the religious leaders were so belligerent toward Jesus, but that they were willfully missing what God was doing in their midst. Hopefully, we will be more attuned to see miracles when they happen, and a spirit of love will guide us instead of a spirit of judgement.
Jesus concludes his conflict with the Jewish leaders at the Feast of Tabernacles by making a pretty bold assertion: "Before Abraham was, I am." This is how God described himself from the burning bush to Moses, "I am." Jesus is further pressing the idea not only that God the Father testifies to who Jesus is, but that Jesus was with the Father before Abraham. It's no small wonder that the crowd went wild, but this is the Gospel. It may not always be popular, but it carries power.
Jesus is defending that he is who he is by invoking a witness to affirm his word: God the Father. Of course, God the Father will now show up and testify on the spot. While that has happened before (remember when Jesus was baptized?), the challenge is actually to Jesus's hearers. If they were actually listening to God the Father, they would see that Jesus is who he says he is.
Jesus, the very Son of God, is at a festival that commemorates God being with the people as they walked the wilderness. It’s easy to be rough on the religious leaders who just wouldn’t believe who Jesus was, but their argument would probably have been many of ours. We know this guy. He’s just a guy. Jesus is up against a difficult situation, but he doesn’t stop being the Son of God, and he doesn’t stop preaching the Gospel. A few even believe, and good for those few. It must have been difficult, but Jesus would later commend even those who had believed without seeing.
The Feast of Tabernacles was a remembrance of the time the Israelites spent in the wilderness after leaving Egypt. This is the festival to which Jesus's brothers were going and mocking him for skipping. While Jesus was using wise discretion in avoiding confrontation with the Jewish leaders, it's wild that a festival that remembered a time where God showed himself to Israel through fire, clouds, and divine provision of food could now miss the actual presence of God because of the mockery of his earthly brothers. Luckily, Jesus still decided to go.
Jesus calling himself the Bread of Life and pointing out that nobody had seen God were references to Exodus. In that story, God fed the Israelites with manna, and the manifestations of God were always veiled. God never appeared in person. Now Jesus is present to fill both of those roles: seeing him is seeing God, and he himself will become the bread that feeds God's people. Not physical bread, or we couldn't live forever. What Jesus gives by fully inhaling him is abundant life, forever, starting now.
Jesus didn't just show up on the scene to hand out free meals, and those who remained after the meal certainly got an extra helping of teaching. While they were looking for another miracle, Jesus wanted them to see the truth: the greatest miracle was him, and he would be the spiritual bread they needed at a much deeper level.
The moment where Jesus fed the crowd is an interesting one. Jesus is indiscriminately feeding everyone, distributing basic needs to all simply because they show up. This might be a good lesson for us: if people are in our sphere, they deserve our love and care. That doesn't look the same for everyone, but it should certainly look like something. Hopefully, it will look like Jesus.
Jesus does not come out of nowhere. John has prepared the way, and God the Father is empowering him. What does this mean? That God has intentionally come to live among men, to show what God is really like, with an introduction from a man (John the Baptist). It is an interconnected web called the Kingdom of God, and we are living in it now if we are living in Christ.
The response given by Jesus about this healing is a strong indication of where the Son of God put his focus. While healing people was important to show who he was, the healings weren't the point. Jesus was guided by God the Father, and was about doing the work of the Father, which was shared with him as the Son. This is important, because that means the work isn't about us either. It's not about this man who was healed. It's about God's work, who God is, and what God is doing.
Jesus’s decision to stay with the Samaritans for two days was an unusual one. The Jews and Samaritans were not generally on friendly terms, and some of his disciples probably thought he has a little goofy for making that choice. Still, he went, he stayed, and Samaritans believed. Jesus would never deny anyone who came seeking him.
It is no small matter that Jesus reveals who he is to this woman. She is an outsider, far from a distinguished or ‘important’ person. Yet, it is now that Jesus decides to unveil his divinity. This would become the trend in his ministry. He didn’t seek out those who had influence or family names. Instead, he spent his time with the least, the last, and the lost. It seems that they were much more open channels to what he was preaching.
Becoming less so that Jesus may become more wasn't a call that ended with John. We are challenged to do the same thing. It's difficult to live with that level of humility, but if you're putting yourself ahead of Jesus, you're trying to do some of the things that are his job. You're definitely not equipped for that.
Nicodemus may have approached Jesus in the night as a sign of respect, vs. debating him openly in public. This may have been a way to treat him as a peer. In any case, this moment was used to teach the Pharisee, and Jesus laid out some pretty complicated theology for him. This should have been right in his wheelhouse, because as Jesus pointed out, Nicodemus was indeed a teacher himself. The message of Jesus was often simple and told in stories, but he rose to the occasion with a more learned mind was before him.
Jesus' miracle at the wedding seems like a big display, but it's not. Hardly anyone knows he has even done it. The master of the banquet doesn't and no mention is even made of the bride and groom. Who knows? The apostles and the servants. This is certainly the way Jesus would continue to operate: the Kingdom slips in among the least and lowly.
Jesus' divinity is opening up to the world even as he called the first disciples. This will not be a constant, because Jesus couldn't reveal everything to everyone. In this moment, though, he is showing a little of who he is to these early apostles. And all of them, as he told Nathaniel, are certainly going to see much more than that.
The book of John was written well after the other gospels, and is full of Jesus’s divinity. Of course, Jesus doesn’t levitate a foot off the ground the whole time. He’s still God Among Us, and the incarnation of Christ among people is just as important as the fact that Jesus is, in fact, God. And to kick things off, the apostle John, author of this book, presents John the Baptist. These aren’t the same person, each have their own role to play as the Kingdom of God unfolds.
It would be great if we could make the Gospel say what we wanted, wouldn't it? But that isn't the way it works, and we should avoid teachers who always seek to "tickle our ears." As Paul goes through his list of companions who have wronged him, it is clear that he hasn't been concerned about impressing anyone. He preaches the unfiltered Jesus, and that is the call of all disciples.
It is no small thing to follow Christ, and there will always be those who say they do, but actually do not. We will all be known by our fruits, because the Spirit produces fruit in the life of one who follows Christ.
It really seems in this passage that Paul doesn’t like women much at all. Remember, though, that this wasn’t written to us. In the Ephesian congregation where Timothy was pastor, there was apparently an ongoing problem of order and pride. Paul is centering on the women’s issues here, because in that culture, it wasn’t customary for women to teach. A wealthy woman coming into the church would need to understand the need to be one in the body of Christ, and that meant not taking excessive measures to draw attention to themselves. It’s a tough passage, but remember that Paul was also a big proponent of grace. He wouldn’t hand these rules out for no reason.
Paul is writing his young protege, Timothy, from prison. It sounds like Paul needs some encouragement himself (having been abandoned by a few people), but this is perhaps the time to pass along encouragement to others. That bond of love, made possible by the moving of the Spirit, is what holds the body of Christ together.
Unity in the body of Christ doesn't come without some work, and Paul leaves Titus with a set of insights for how to complete that work. It is Christ who serves as our life and our example, but the Spirit knits together all of the body of Christ and makes us a true community.
Paul isn't challenging Titus to upend the entire social structure of Crete, but to form a Christian subculture within that society. The roles of women, men, and slaves are already set in that place. In the body of Christ, however, those roles can look different. The peace and harmony that Jesus brings is unique, and we seek the same thing today in our own societies.
Good behavior is not the path to salvation, but it should be the quality of someone who is following Christ. Particularly in alignment with the two greatest commandments to love God and love your neighbor, those who wish to be leaders in the Church should show what Jesus looked like through their own example as much as possible. As Paul was depending on Titus to establish a new church in Crete, it was critical to use all means necessary to show what the body of Christ looked like.
The Church should indeed look unique. This handling of the rich (which is not universal, there were devout wealthy Christians as well) is a little unexpected. Not to be a slave to money, Timothy is instructed by Paul to do so because sharing among the early Church was one of its trademarks, and greed could derail that quality of life.
We have a new kind of family in Christ: fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters. Each of us should look to fill one of those roles for someone, and look for those who will be that family for us. We need fathers and mothers to guide us, brothers and sisters to walk with us. This is what makes the body of Christ, and we are all joined together in the Spirit.
(For this cycle in Psalms, I am reading from Robert Alter’s poetic translation, “The Hebrew Bible.”)
In Timothy and Paul's age, it was rare for younger men to be set in positions of authority above older ones. Paul's instruction is particularly important to Timothy for that reason. Still, a life of devotion speaks for itself, and within the body of the Church, the rules are certainly different than elsewhere.
(For this cycle through Psalms, I am reading from Robert Alter's poetic translation, "The Hebrew Bible.")
Those who work in God’s house need the trust and confidence of the Church, so it can’t be just anyone. Our families are sometimes our most difficult relationships, so it’s not surprise that those relationships are a proving ground for deacons and elders in the early church. For, as it says, how can someone lead in the Church if they can’t lead their own family?
Paul's command to women in this verse has ruffled more than a few feathers. Perhaps the things that we might need to remember in this verse are: 1. This is not our time. 2. Paul was not trying to solve women's equality, but he certainly mentored his share of important female leaders (Priscilla, Phoebe and Junia to name a few). 3. Pauls' concern in this verse is church order, and that can be accomplished with a bit of social order. Women apparently weren't leaders in this church (but were in others), and this church had its own personality. Perhaps, once order was established so that worship wouldn't become grandstanding, the roles of women might have changed to something more familiar in Paul's other letters.
(For this cycle through Psalms, I am reading from Robert Alter's "Hebrew Bible" translation.
Paul is writing to his star pupil, Timothy. This instruction was a great primer in healthy church life, because that’s exactly what the young pastor would have needed to nurture. Paul keys on his Jewish scholarship by showing that the Law still has a use, to point us away from the things we shouldn’t do. This isn’t the end of the story, of course. We also need to lean on Jesus for the path upon which we should walk.
(For this cycle through Psalms, I am reading from Robert Alter’s “Hebrew Bible” translation, which is particularly poetic.)
The book of Philemon is a fun little journey into the world of the early church. If Paul met Onesimus in prison, then there is a good chance Onesimus did something to get there. He may have stolen from his master, or perhaps something else. Whatever the case, Paul is asking for Philemon to take a different approach than was his right, and that’s the life of the Church. Even if we might have the right to take something or inflict pain, we must reframe that situation through the lens of Jesus and our citizenship in his Kingdom.
(For this cycle through Psalms, I am reading from Robert Alter’s “Hebrew Bible” translation, which is particularly poetic.)
You have to admire Paul's resolve. Put in jail for preaching, left there for years, shipwrecked, stoned, and snakebitten. After all of that, he's right back at it, preaching again. He's even using his struggle to draw a crowd, and for good measure. New believers are formed, the Kingdom of God is growing. Would that any of us would have such resolve in our calling.
(For this cycle through Psalms, I am reading from Robert Alter's "Hebrew Bible" translation. It's a little more poetic and might give you a fresh take on the Psalms.)
Jeremiah 29:7 (bonus verse, not in our reading today) says, “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Paul was a diligent student of scripture, and I wonder if he may have had this verse in mind in places like Malta where he prayed to heal people and became an object lesson for God’s protection. God was with him, and so God was with those people as well. It’s certainly reasonable to believe that Paul’s good works and miracles in these places bore fruit, for certainly being exposed to God cannot leave a person unchanged.
(For this cycle through the Psalms, I m reading from “The Hebrew Bible” translation by Robert Alter.)
It must have been a real treat to be Paul's jailor, with God on his side. Of course, God is preserving Paul for a great work... but sometimes, Paul becomes a real told-ya-so kind of guy. I guess spending 2 or 3 years in jail with no clear reason will make you a little testy. Even a testy apostle is used by God, though, and it was a fortunate thing for the crew of this ship in this shipwreck. God certainly could have picked Paul out and only saved him, but that's not what happened. The others on the ship must have had some wild stories of their own to tell.
There is a LOT happening in this verse. Paul is finally before a higher ruler, but clearly Festus is still present. Agrippa was Jewish but still a Roman ruler, and Paul even challenged him on his Jewish-ness (which could be seen as a bit of a challenge, maybe?). In the midst of this, his story is still of his conversion, of course including the detail of his work with some of the very men who were now accusing him. It's a mess. But Paul is still a witness to Jesus, though it looks very different than his usually preaching gigs. This is the faithfulness that we are also called to hold: to remain true to our call, no matter what form it may take.
(For this cycle through Psalms, I am departing from the NIV and reading from Robert Alter's "Hebrew Bible" translation.)
Paul must have been a bit of a personality among the Romans. The prisoner who was always in prison, yet whom nobody knew where to put. For years he was there, waiting for his appeal to the highest court, but even those who were supposed to send him there didn't know how to approach it. And so he sat. Paul must have been a man of some patience as well, waiting for the time to come. Though it was no vacation, the Spirit remained with Paul even in waiting.
(For this cycle through Psalms, I am departing from the NIV and reading from Robert Alter's "Hebrew Bible" translation.)
Although Paul is stuck with corrupt politicians, he isn't wasting the opportunity. It's impossible to know the influence that the Apostle had on these men, but Paul was a man of powerful words. God may have had Paul exactly where he needed to be, infiltrating the Spirit among the upper ranks of Roman governance.
(For this cycle through Psalms, I am departing from the NIV and reading from Robert Alter's "Hebrew Bible" translation.)
Paul is in an actual legal fight now (probably preferable to the physical fights he has come from), and even before Felix he is still preaching. Here with all the players of his troubles, he brings together the Old and New Testaments to show once again how it all comes together in Jesus. That's a different approach than many might take, as choosing to fight for our own lives might take precedence over preaching. Not Paul, though. He sees his life with that one singular purpose, and showing the world Jesus is always on his agenda.
The plot against Paul is truly a nefarious one. The Asian Jews and the Sanhedrin have both failed in their attempts to bring him down, and now this group of assassins are after him. It's almost like an action movie. Luckily, even in these dire times, God still made a way. It's ironic that it's Rome, the secular power that crucified Jesus, now saving Paul. God is nothing if not creative.
It's quite a feat to redirect two groups who are both angry with you, and cause them to direct their anger at one another. This, of course, isn't something Jesus did. Paul is not Jesus. We shouldn't be manipulative generally, but Paul was very much fighting for his life. With his Roman citizenship binding him to the authorities, he used his knowledge of the Pharisees and Sadducees to skirt their wrath. There's probably also a lesson to be learned here about how anger carries us away. "Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools." - Ecclesiastes 7:9
Poor Paul. He tried his best to sway the crowd by telling his story, but they were already angry. Not even the idea that he had once been a killer of Christians would help turn the tide of this ravenous mob. Still, it was Paul’s job to try. He didn’t run and hide, and he kept doing his best to try and tell the story of Jesus and his encounters with the risen Christ. This is a prophet’s job, and it is in God’s hands afterward.
Anyone who says preaching the Gospel should only lead to prosperity never met Paul. He is in the midst of a riot, brought on by the same group of which he used to be a part. It's difficult to follow Jesus sometimes, and often hard to know if we're the ones in the right. The best thing to do? Stay humble, follow Jesus, and apologize if we mess up.
The words of dread issued to Paul are not joke, he is coming to the end of his days. Even as that occurs, it’s notable how many other brothers and sisters are surrounding Paul. He has been a star disciple, but he is not the only person God has in this game. People like Agabus only have two mentions in the Bible (assuming this Agabus is the same one mentioned in Acts 11:28), and he comes back for the occasion. Mnason, the man providing a place for the traveling preachers to stay, is only mentioned for that act. But of course these aren’t the acts only of Paul, they are the formation of the early Church. The Spirit is raising people up, even as Paul sees his final days.
The Gospel is about one person: Jesus. While we love one another in community, it is not about us. That is fortunate, because the loss of someone like Paul could have been a major blow if it were all about him. As he prepares to leave some of his brothers and sisters, he takes the opportunity to say goodbye, but the Spirit will never leave them.
If you think you’ve sat through a bad sermon, then take heart from this story of a young man who fell asleep, fell out a window, and was healed by that same preacher. This is (comically) proof of two things: first, even Paul had bad sermons. And two, keep proclaiming Jesus. Why else would Paul patch up the kid and keep preaching?
Our God is a God of order and of grace, not of chaos and power-seizing. The worshipers and tradesmen of Artemis do a pretty good job of drawing the difference between that false god and the true God. Not only were they leaping to violence, they also fizzled out when they actually needed to present the evidence that Paul and the other Christ-followers were in the wrong. Standing with Jesus, hopefully we will have a similar experience of allowing the Spirt and the truth to fight for us.
The thrashing of the Seven Sons of Sceva is kind of a comical moment, but it’s also a good reminder: while the name of Jesus is indeed spiritually powerful, it is part of something deeper. Disciples of Jesus bear his name, but it is not a trick to be handed around as needed. Remember also that the disciples themselves had trouble casting out a demon once and were unable, and Jesus told them that the method required prayer (Mark 9:29). Hopefully, the Sons of Sceva learned to follow the Saviour instead of just using his name for their own purposes.
The coming of the Holy Spirit was significant in more than the tongues of fire at Pentecost. As this new way of being followers of Jesus progressed, the Spirit also became the thing that defined new baptisms. This isn't some otherworldly experience, it is a this-world experience, as we work with the Father and the Son as well as the Spirit.
Paul experiences such problems among the Jewish leaders that he shifts his focus more fully to the Gentiles. This doesn't mean that he was abandoning the Jews, but it did mean that Paul probably wanted to spend his time talking about Jesus rather than fighting those who opposed him.
Paul finds himself among people in Greece who are very religious, but are missing the main point of religion: Jesus. Of course, in this context, some of them laugh him off; they think they already have all the answers. Some, however, do not. There are some who are open to the Spirit and can be moved by what Paul has to say, entering an opportunity created by the working of God. Hopefully, we will also be open to those workings around us.
Paul is accused of doing something of which was definitely guilty: saying that Jesus was king and that Caesar was not. Of course, that was used in a way that isn’t at all what it should mean for a Christian. It shouldn’t mean that we are pushing for the violent overthrow of our leaders, but it should mean that our allegiance is to a gentle and humble Savior whose example we follow. If Jesus is our example, we’ll start to care a little less about who holds the earthly power. There is no power greater than the Spirit among us, Jesus standing for us, and God the Father preserving us.
The way God builds the Kingdom created by Jesus is sometimes wild to behold. We think of preaching and proclaiming the word as the main tools, but how about jailbreaks? Rebuking fortune tellers? Even avoiding a town? God’s plan was right on time, and sometimes all we can do is hold on tight and follow as close as we can.
You never want to see your parents fight, but Paul and Barnabas remained focused on the mission of Christ even as they encountered irreconcilable differences. This actually helped grow the Kingdom of Christ: the all-star team broke up, but they both made new all stars. Mark wrote one of our gospels, and Timothy was the person two whom Paul wrote at least two letters.
As the Church continues growing, they are certainly taking a step away from the rule of the Law as the Jewish people had long been accustomed to doing. Of course, this was on purpose. Paul talks often about law vs. life in the Spirit. So if the rules that were sent around didn’t even equal the Ten Commandments, how did people learn how to be Christians? The answer to that is discipleship. Paul, Barnabas, Silas and Barsabbas were just a few of those who traveled in person not only to help plant new churches, but to stay long enough to get to know the people and help them learn better how to follow Jesus. This connected new believers directly to the people taught by Jesus, and the chain has remained unbroken ever since.
God really is dong a new thing among the early Church, and sometimes it’s hard to know where the old rules stop and the new covenant begins. This is a good example as the Jews claim that circumcision, the covenant given to Abraham, must be practiced among all of them. This is actually pretty reasonable. God made the covenant with Abraham, after all, and God set that rule up. But God is going beyond the action, he wants his Church to have the faith as well. So it is that circumcision came to an end, but the faith of Abraham is still what we participate in.
When you’re feeling beaten up, it’s good to go home. Home is a place that feels welcoming, and hopefully there are people there who support and love you. That’s what Paul and Barnabas are heading back to, and Paul certainly has the right to have claimed being beaten up. Getting back home is where we regain our footing and the sense of who we are so we can be strong. That was what God gave Paul in the Antioch church.
As Paul and Barnabas continue preaching, it’s interesting what erupts among those who oppose them. Luke, who wrote Acts, says that the Jewish leaders were jealous because Paul and Barnabas were drawing such a big crowd. It’s kind of a sad moment, really. If they had been able to listen to what the Spirit was doing, perhaps they could have joined the crowd. Instead, they opposed Paul and Barnabas, then kicked them out. It’s a tragedy when ego comes before the moving of the Holy Spirit.
If we had wondered why God would have chosen a man like Paul to become a leader in the Christian church, this verse gives us a pretty good indication. Paul was a scholar in the Hebrew Scriptures, and knew God's story well. His persecution of the early church, prior to his conversion, had been part of his passion for God's story. Now that he sees God's story more fully, there is nobody better than him to tell it. He is able to help the Jewish believers understand how it all fits together, especially those like himself who may not know how Jesus fits until someone shows them.
Paul, who had been struck blind in his conversion experience, inflicts blindness on a false prophet. This is really unusual for the apostle known for his defense of grace. On the surface, this seems like retribution, something he uses to silence the false prophet. What if it wasn't? What if he was giving this man the same route to redemption that he took? We don't know for sure, but since the Spirit joins Paul in this action, it certainly seems possible.
Why was James killed but Peter miraculously saved? Only God knows the answer to that. It isn't because Peter was a better apostle or because God loved him more, and it wasn't because it was only Peter that could bring God's purposes to fruition. God's plan was not thwarted and cannot be, and Peter's survival was part of that plan. Poor Rhoda... nobody believed her!
The city of Antioch is one of the most important in the history of Christianity. God was raising up Paul as he worked in that church, and it would become a center of operations for the Church for years to come. It’s no coincidence that the Spirit went ahead of them, and that God was creating this new base of operations. Most of the believers in that day would have probably looked to Jerusalem, that’s certainly where the apostles were spending a lot of time. But God isn’t interested in doing things we expect. Sometimes our greatest growth comes from the times when he surprises us, does something somewhere else, and challenges us to meet him where he’s taking us.
When God decides to move, it really causes waves. The expansion of the Kingdom from the Jews to the Gentiles wasn't done by writing big words in the sky, but through people. How would you have done it if you were God? It seems that entrusting that kind of news into human hands is an unusual way to do something big, but that is the whole point of Jesus. God wished to fully include his people in His plan, however inefficient it may seem to us.
As God prepares the Church and does new things within it, he also prepares the people of that Church. In the case of Peter and Cornelius, he is bringing together the Jewish people of the promise and the Gentiles who are not of Abraham’s line. This was started on the day of Pentecost, when other languages were heard spoken, a sign that God was on the move outside of the established “in” crowd. Now God says it directly to Peter: I am making one Church, and it is all because of Jesus.
Happy Pentecost Sunday! And indeed it is happy, because the Spirit of God is with us. Not only those born from Abraham, but those who come to God in faith, just as Abraham did. This is the enduring promise of God even today, and the Spirit remains with us still.
The raising of a believer named Tabitha would have been a pretty big deal among the early Church. Not only because it was quite a thing to see, but because God’s purpose must have surely been in it. She was certainly not the first to die, so it wasn’t regular practice to bring everyone back from the dead. In this, though, God shows himself faithful to his Church. As Ananias and Sapphira had their lives taken for working against the Spirit, so did this believing woman have her life returned for working with the Spirit. God desires wholeness, and both of those actions were for the wholeness of the Church.
Sometimes, God seems to have a real sense of humor. Take Paul (called "Saul" at this point) and his hunting down Christians. God could have struck him dead and removed him from the picture as a threat, but there was a different purpose for Paul. God wanted to make an enemy into an apostle, and that is just what God did. Perhaps he could see that, in Paul's heart, there was a genuine zeal for God that could turn the world upside down if it was channeled in a better way. Indeed, that is exactly what happened.
The baptizing of the Ethiopian is fantastic news for all of us. He was about as much an outsider as you could have been during this time. Ethiopia was far away, he certainly was not Jewish, and he only had part of the scriptures. But he was also a sincere seeker of God, and God honored that seeking by sending Phillip (not the apostle) to help steer him in the right direction. If an outsider like this is important to God, so are we.
Simon the Sorcerer is a good example of what NOT to do. Don’t think that the Spirit of God is yours to control or use for your own fame. Don’t think that you can buy your way into being an apostle. And perhaps most importantly of all, DON’T think so little of God that you put yourself ahead of him. The church was growing through persecution during this period, and God wasn’t going to change course and suddenly start pouring his Spirit out on the most powerful. Following the way of Jesus was still critical, and his way was one of humility and suffering. (Just don’t suffer because of your own stupidity!)
Stephen’s sermon ends almost abruptly by mentioning Jesus, probably because he knew that bringing up the topic would abruptly end his speech. This is certainly what happened. Before this Jewish audience, though, he has laid out more of what Jesus is than most of them probably realize. He is the new temple, he is the new priest. He is the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham, and he is the answer to the prayers of the people from captivity.
As Stephen boldly continues his speech, he comes to the time of Moses and the Exodus. This is not by mistake. God said that he would set the people free, and this initiative was of God's doing. Moses was an important part, but it was still God's work. Not to spoil the next point in Stephen's sermon, but what Jesus did was the same: God came to do the work of redemption, and it was God's own work to do.
When Stephen begins his defense of the Gospel, it starts in the story of the Old Testament. While that was essential to address his high-profile Jewish audience, the same is true today. The story God has been creating did not start in the Gospels. God created a world and set in in motion with a plan, and God’s plan has not been derailed.
God’s challenge to Ezekiel and the call of the apostles in the face of the Sanhedrin are very much aligned. When God gives us an assignment, we are never working alone. Along with the body of Christ which is the Church, the Spirit is with us just as it was with Ezekiel and Peter. Don’t take that lightly, and let it encourage you. God has a plan, and it includes us.
Was it necessary for these two stingy givers to… die? It seems a little excessive, but remember where we are. God is doing something new. It’s a new era, and it centers around a humble Savior. There is no room for puffery or pretending, and God is building his Church strong from the beginning. That’s no comfort for the family of this couple, but it let the early believers know that God was among them, and that God was sovereign.
We combine the passage from Hebrews with a passage from Luke today for a very good reason: Luke reminds us that Jesus ascended, and Hebrews reminds us what he is now doing. When Jesus ascended, he didn’t do it for a fun trick. He did it to sit at the right hand if the Father, serving forever as our High Priest. He is familiar with our struggle, and there is no greater ally than someone who knows what you’re going through.
The message of Jesus is truly bizarre without the understanding given by the Spirit. Peter preaches it, though, and the Spirit that showed up at Pentecost began opening minds and hearts. This isn’t just a story told to impress people, this message has meaning. That meaning brings wholeness, just as the bodily wholeness of the lame man was given.
Jesus is the first, last, and best Word we have to offer. I have heard it said, "The Word of God is the only way for us to know and see God, so the Word became flesh." This was surely true for Peter as he stood up at Pentecost and testified. That power that came through Jesus was what enabled the apostles to do what, at other times, they had been unable to do.
Pentecost is the work of God just as the Tower of Babel was in the Old Testament. As Babel was made to divide the people, so is Pentecost made to bring the people together in the Spirit. This was always God's plan. Making a community in the Spirit took time, but God's timing is always right.
The body of prophecy surrounding Jesus goes beyond just him, it extends to his team of apostles. Jesus was intentional in assembling that team, and so it was important to preserve its structure after he ascended. While there is no "book of Matthias," it must have been amazing to have been Matthias and be added to the twelve apostles.
The thing that makes Christianity unique is Jesus. Not just that he came and taught the people and died on a cross, but that he lives again. He lives now, as we say now, "seated at the right hand of the Father." This is his position of Lordship forever, and it cannot be taken from him. This is the Savior we serve.
The little book of 3 John has a neat glimpse into one aspect of the early church: traveling teachers. With John’s calling out of those who receiving them both poorly and well, we also get an idea of the way churches needed to work together in those days. There was no email, no telephone. Letters such as John’s were expensive to write and commoners probably seldom did this. To correctly pass along the good news (and remember that there were also false teachers), it was important to have teachers who spoke the Word correctly move around. Seems like we have it much easier!
2 John is one of the shortest books in the Bible, but its repeated themes from 1 John really reinforce the struggle that the earliest Christians faced: who Jesus was. It probably became somewhat fashionable to come up with an alternate version of Christianity, especially one that might have been easier to understand than the Jesus that has come to be understood through the centuries. Don't take the easy road, though. Knowing Jesus is knowing the process of formation, and that means allowing our understanding to be changed.
The life in the Spirit hinges on our belief in Jesus. Not only as a person who actually lived and died on earth, but as the giver of eternal life. That life has started now: it is eternally in the Spirit, through the Son, with the Father.
Love is the thing that God most richly gives us, so of course we are called to share it as his people. Of course we should love God, but as this verse points out, that's empty if we don't love others. Not only because we are God's creation, but also because the love of one we can't see is practiced on those we can.
Not being an "antichrist" requires being filled with the Spirit of Truth. That is good for more than just making us correct. If we are filled with the Spirit, the acts of the Spirit become our own. Just as sin cannot live with the Spirit, neither can ignoring those around us. God is love and the Spirit is God, so we have access to those divine qualities in addition to the truth.
If we are in Christ, we are under a different standard. No longer are we following the rules for the sake of the rules, but for the sake of Christ. Living in harmony with others isn't about looking like a good person, it's about recognizing the life of Christ and aligning ours with the help of the Holy Spirit. This is the reason that sin cannot live in us. Not because we should be flawless, but be cause the moving of the Spirit and the example of Christ should make it unfit to live in us.
John talks pretty freely about Antichrists in this passage, but he's not talking about world rulers who rally massive armies. He's talking about people who claim to speak for God, but don't include the Lordship of Jesus in their teaching. This is critical. Without Jesus, there is no path to God. Jesus is God, and he cannot be subtracted from the picture.
This book, written by one of Jesus's apostles, is addressed to believers who were in the area of Asia Minor. Today, this area is the heart of the Eastern Orthodox Church. At this point in history, however, the church was young. It wasn't wildly popular, and it was still growing. We open the book with the basics of evangelism: what we have been given from God, we have given to others. This is the way the church grew in the beginning, and it's the way it grows today.
The little book of Jude kind of comes out of nowhere. Landing right before Revelation, it is thought to have been written by one of the biological brothers of Jesus, and he seems pretty concerned about false teachers who had found their way into groups of believers. They sow seeds of discord instead of harmony. They are arrogant instead of humble. They ridicule instead of trying to understand. These are pretty good standards for us today. If we look like any of those false teachers, we may be one ourselves.
The "Day of the Lord" talk in this verse is certainly apocalyptic. There are a lot of different takes on this verse, but the kernel we need to keep our eyes on is consistent: God will judge the world, and God will purify the world. The world was his, always has been, and always will be. If we are obedient and following our Saviour, the Day of the Lord will be a reason for rejoicing, because we are people of the Lord.
The easiest way to keep from being judgmental? Leave the judgement to God. Certainly, that's far easier said than done, but the judgement of God is far better than our own. It's kind of appropriate that we have this verse from Job today, paired with the section from 2 Peter. God has been setting things in motion since the beginning, it's certainly not asking him too much to set things right in our lives.
2 Peter is written with a slightly different message in mind. Persecution from without isn’t so much the them as false teaching from within. It must have been a crazy time in the history of the church: spreading the Gospel of this man who rose from the dead, who was apparently God? It’s no wonder that others tried to capitalize on that wild story and expand on it in their own ways. Peter leads into this discussion by encouraging faith and obedience, as well as a firm establishment of where the Word of God comes from.
As Peter's epistle concludes, the focus turns to leadership. Being humble and alert are his dominant themes, and we must wonder which of the two was more prominent. If this letter was written to persecuted Christians, being humble may have been easier. Being alert would probably be critical, especially if believers may have been tempted to walk away from their faith in the face of trials. At all times, we should submit to one another as well as God, and walk the path as a true body.
Is it even possible to rejoice in the midst of suffering? It's certainly not easy, and it's not our natural first reaction. That kind of thinking takes a pretty major overhaul of our worldview. But we have that resource available, and it travels with us. The Spirit is always near, and we can be part of the work God is already doing if we're listening.
Yesterday was about replacing power with submission, and today is about replacing our attitude toward suffering. Remembering that this letter was probably written to people who were directly experiencing persecution, and Peter reminded them that they need not be frightened when their hope was in Christ. Carrying this truth is difficult in the face of pain, but it is always an option available to us.
Peter gives us a very different kind of power dynamic than what we have come to expect. No longer are we struggling against one another, trying to seize power, but we are submitting to one another. Even wicked slavemasters are not resisted, although that would take an immense amount of dependence on a delivering God. Certainly none of these models are different than what Jesus showed us, and his example remains the one for us to aspire to.
Only God can purify us, and he has made us new. Our side of the bargain is obedience, walking in step with the path set by Christ. Of course, this still doesn't make us able to save ourselves. It is God's choice to set us right with him, and we are made all the better when we put ourselves in God's hands.
As the apostle Peter addresses believers around the region who were probably suffering persecution under the horrible emperor Nero. In these times, it was critical to remind the body of Christ that their best future still lay in the future, and would be with Christ. In the meantime, even while under persecution, the Church is still supposed to be a different kind of community, a reflection of our Savior.
James concludes his letter with encouragement, because he point of holy living isn’t just being a better person. It should create a community of people who reflect out Savior. We are not the first to experience suffering, nor will we be the last. The life that we lead together, the life of the Church, is a shared experience that should give a glimpse of what is to come.
Today the Church remembers James (from whom we have been reading this week) and Phillip. James, thought to be a brother of Jesus, has been outlining some pretty specific rules for Christian living. Today is no exception, as he challenges us to lay aside the pursuit of thing right in front of us for the eternal. Phillip is an apostle that not much is written about. In this section of scripture today, though, we see him running to get someone else to follow Jesus after he starts following himself. This instant multiplication of the Kingdom is exactly what apostles should do.
"If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" is probably something we can all carry with us. Remembering that the person we're addressing is a creation made in God's image is certainly a good reminder when we're thinking of how we want to approach someone else. Of course, this becomes difficult when we try to put it into practice. People cause us pain and wrong us. Difficult though it is, this is certainly the way Jesus was treated as well, and he is the one we claim to follow.
Faith should play out in our actions, just as James says the soul gives life to the body. Certainly, this does not mean that if we're good enough, we will earn God's love. It does not mean that we can save ourselves. If our faith is alive, though, the evidence should be found in the way we live.
James reminds us that we should treat the rich and poor equally as our brothers in the church. This is very difficult to do, since we are naturally drawn to those who can do something for us. The rich have the resources to do so, but the poor not so much. Under Christ, we all draw from his riches, and hopefully share some of the bounty of our earthly possessions with those who have less.
James is believed to have been written by a brother of Jesus, a son of Mary and Joseph. It seems a bit heavy on legalism, but don't be tempted to go too far with that approach. Certainly a holy life is possible only because of the life and sacrifice of Jesus, and a holy life should also model him.
The end of Hebrews is directly about Jesus. He is the high priest and the sacrifice, which fulfills the law. Our sacrifice is no longer blood offerings, but praise. Not only the praise of worship, but of holy living. Jesus made this change in his coming, but it remains our task in the rhythm of the Kingdom.
We've come a long way in Hebrews, this book that puts Christianity in the Jewish context. Now we are at one of their most important places: the Holy City. Jerusalem has been rocked before, even destroyed. It has been torn down and rebuilt. Not so with the Kingdom Jesus brings. It will never be destroyed, and our citizenship there is assured.
It’s very popular to think only of God handing out blessings like candy, or to think of him as horrible when bad things happen to us. If we belong to God, then we must be willing to submit to his discipline. Just as our parents discipline us for our best (and we hate it at the time!), so also does God, but his wisdom is infallible.
Faith has always been a critical part of the life of God’s people, even those early in our history. Showing faith is our part of the deal, because the rest is truly up to God. Abraham, Jacob, David, and all the rest of the list in today’s passage had to show faith the same as we do today, and none of them are more privileged than we are. The story is truly God’s, and we are part of it.
Since we know that Jesus is our high priest and seated at the right hand of the father, we can see what he does with that power: he redeems us. We are purified him to do his good work, even though sometimes it is very difficult to be faithful. This is a very different way of living than what comes easy, but God’s way is always for his Kingdom and for our good.
The sacrificial system before Jesus, the pattern of the Old Testament, was never meant to be permanent. It was a preview of what was to come, it helped God's chosen people understand how things worked in God's world. But then God came in the flesh to complete that picture, and the whole picture became more complete. God knew that timing better than we did, and now we have Jesus in the seat of authority to set us right with God.
The Hebrew temple was the heart of worship, the place where Heaven and earth intersected. With Jesus, those two things have come together. He is the high priest and the sacrifice, but he entered into Heaven itself, and took away the stain of sin for all time.
The Old Testament is still part of our story, and this verse from Hebrews lays out some of that. What was part of Jewish worship before Jesus was a preview of coming attractions, but was made whole in Jesus. The plan God completed with Christ started long before him, but it was still God's plan. We have a high priest in Jesus who was part of all of it.
Having just celebrated Easter, we are primed for this verse from Hebrews. The coming of Jesus, his death and resurrection, have created a new covenant between God and man. No longer does a priest need to offer the blood of animals, because Jesus is our high priest, sitting at the right hand of the Father, who himself became the sacrifice. The space between God and man has been bridged by the initiative of God, because there was no way for us to do it ourselves.
Christ is risen indeed! May the glory of the resurrection shine on us all today, as we have our eyes opened to who Christ truly is. Just as his fellow travelers to Emmaus, may we each discover him in our own way today, and may the reality of his life, death, and resurrection become central to who we are as citizens of his Kingdom.
The full day in which Jesus is dead occurs on the Sabbath, which is on a Saturday in Jewish tradition. It was a day of rest for the devout, and it follows the finished work of our Savior as well. The day is important, because it means Jesus really, truly, did die. His death and what comes next are what make the Christian faith unique.
Today is one of the most important days on the Christian calendar: Good Friday. This is the day that we remembered Jesus suffered and died, a perfect life offered in our place. This wasn't a cosmic tragedy or a divine blunder, it was God's plan, and Jesus was part of it. Redemption can come only from God, and Jesus is making it happen in this part of the story.
The important events of Holy Week are coming together, and today we remember the Last Supper. Jesus gave us this observance, something that his followers continue today. It's a time to remember his sacrifice, but it's also a complicated table on this first night. Jesus is there with both faithful apostles and a man about to betray him, but he serves the bread to both. I have heard it said, "when you learn how to sit at the table with your Judas, you'll understand the love of Christ."
Remember that the audience of this letter is Jewish believers, and this period of time may have been difficult to hold onto their newfound Christian faith. Before Christianity was familiar, it was new and it was probably very tempting to go back to an old set of beliefs, because it may have felt safer. The writer of Hebrews has already been doing the work of establishing who Jesus was and is, and now he puts it directly into a familiar Jewish context: what Moses was, Jesus is greater than. Moses symbolizes the law, so that’s the meaning here. What the law started, Jesus finished. We can still trust that today.
The writer of Hebrews is certainly going to make much of Jesus, but first he brings Jesus down to earth, literally. We don't serve a God who is removed from our experience, because Jesus chose that very experience to enter into. Our sufferings, sorrows, and joys are all familiar to him. That is a great comfort when we think that this same Jesus is also our judge.
It is not known who the writer of Hebrews was, but it is a book rich in the place of Christ in God’s master plan. It was written to encourage Jewish converts to Christianity to continue in the new chapter in their faith, to remember that Jesus was part of the Jewish storyline, and to recognize fully who Jesus is.
You can almost hear the discouragement in Paul’s voice as he writes about those who have left or opposed him. How difficult it must be for him to say that he doesn’t hold that against them, because they were doing more than simply opposing him. They were also opposing Christ. This kind of hope for redemption was part of the grace that Paul preached, and must have been one of the most important things he hoped to pass on to young Timothy as well.
Paul has been talking to Timothy about how to make the body of believers a different community, and now he draws the difference between them and that "easy" way from yesterday. Others may take that way, but we should not. We should keep one another accountable, and all of us are equally accountable to God.
Taking the easy route is not always (or usually?) the correct one. It is easy to teach the first idea that comes into our head, but we need the Spirit and the correction of one another to teach what God wants. It is easy to chase our own needs, but we should instead deny the short-term for the better things of eternity. This is the focus teachers must keep both for themselves and for those they intend to teach, and Paul wants Timothy to remember that.
Paul’s second letter to Timothy has a lot of things going on. Notably, a few important friends have abandoned Paul. It was probably particularly important for him to build Timothy up during this time, but it must have been difficult. When things start going downhill for us, we might be tempted to feel sorry for ourselves, to give up and head home. Luckily, that wasn’t Paul’s style. When the difficult times came, he spent his energy building up his young protege.
Paul finishes the letter to Titus by establishing that the body of believers is not to create a counter-culture that disrupts those around them, but that becomes good citizens and sows seeds of peace. With the wisdom that comes from the Spirit, we can do this far better. Certainly this is not of our own making, but because we have been remade in the image of Christ.
As Paul advises Titus further in how to build the foundation for a group of believers, he turns from the qualification of leaders to the behavior of those not in leadership. This is an important reminder for us today as well: the body of Christ is not defined only by those who lead us, although we are sometimes more quick to judge them than look at ourselves. What all of us do matters: it is all a reflection on the Spirit that guides us and the Lord we serve.
Paul's letter to Titus is a glimpse in to building a church in the early stages. Titus is facing those who have some teachings contradictory to Christ, but it also needs to build his support group. Setting up elders means that the pastor won't be alone, he will be partnered with others who can support him. God never sent anyone out as a lone wolf. Jesus sent the apostles out two by two, and we today need one another for support just the same as those in the first century.
As Paul closes his first letter to Timothy, he comes back to Timothy personally. To be a capable spiritual leader, it is important to me mindful of the source of our power, the gifts we have been given, and the faithfulness we should hold on to. God is certainly the author and perfecter of our faith, but we are participants in his work. He has chosen us for this purpose, so what we do is important.
It’s fortunate that today puts together Proverbs 31 with 1 Timothy 5, because the content is certainly related. Paul talked before about women not leading in church, because of the educational practices of the day. Women aren’t unimportant, however. It is still necessary for women to be of noble character (as outlined in Proverbs 31) and also to take care of others within the body of Christ. If there are older widows in need of care, they are still important. They are not forgotten. This is what the Church looks like when it shares authentic love within itself.
Paul continues to counsel Timothy in the way a pastor should conduct themselves, including particular advice to Timothy to have courage when leading those older than himself. Of course, anyone who puts themself through the rigor of spiritual leadership should be about the work, not worrying about whether or not they have some fatal flaw. God raises up those who he wants to serve him, and the body of Christ should support these people.
Pastors are not to do the work of the church alone. Timothy, to whom the letter is written, is a pastor. Paul doesn’t want him to be alone, though. He wants him to be surrounded with devoted men of God who love their wives (otherwise, how can they understand how Christ loves the Church?) and take the example of Christ they show to the world seriously. With a team like that, a pastor has the full body of Christ to work with.
As Paul continues teaching his young pastor protege, he comes to the matter of how to manage his congregation. It wasn't customary for women to be educated in this time period, so for women to lead would have been somewhat reckless. While the Spirit can certainly speak through women, orderly worship would have been much more outside the experience of someone unfamiliar with classrooms.
Paul again! This time, he is writing a letter to his star pupil, a young man he is mentoring to be a pastor. In this section, Paul is modeling the humility that often defines his writing, and also casts a picture of what Timothy's job is going to look like. It's no pleasure cruise, he will definitely encounter opposition. There will also come others who try to make the Gospel about something other than Jesus, but not Timothy: he must keep Jesus central.
Paul ends with a well-known passage on the armor of God, and we must be careful not to think we are some kind of superhero because of this. The command repeated over and over is to “stand,” not to fight. Most of the things described here are defensive pieces, things that keep us intact. The only offensive weapon is the sword, and that’s the Spirit. Certainly, none of us are big enough to wield that!
Paul extends his “loving and submitting” line of thought now to children, slaves and masters. While this verse has been used to justify slavery (conveniently leaving out the part about masters treating slaves well, I suppose), this is Paul’s attempt to say that there are many ways for the model of Christ and Church beyond husbands and wives. Anytime the opportunity comes to love someone and work for their good, we can do it again.
God has given us marriage as an example of what the relationship of Christ and the Church can but we don't always see it perfectly. To be fully like Christ and the Church, the husband must seek his wife's best, putting his effort into helping her be the best she can be. If husbands love their wives in this way, submission isn't about power, but about being folded into love. Jesus does this perfectly, of course.
It is important to keep Christ a top priority in our our life, and that means rearranging what our life looks like sometimes. We should have close acquaintances that help build up our faith, and we should keep as far away from sin as possible. Not because we can purify ourselves, but because following Jesus means keeping ourselves free of distractions.
When Paul talks about "Gentiles" in this verse, he doesn't just mean non-Jews. He means those who don't follow Christ. And of course, this makes sense. If we are following Jesus, our lives should look different. Not because we're better people, but because our hearts have been changed, our lives are realigned thanks to the moving of the Spirit.
It’s really something else, the way the Church comes together in God’s plan. Certainly, we are all under the rule of King Jesus, and that’s not a bad leader to follow at all. But the plan still includes us. Jesus on earth was teaching others, preparing the way for the Kingdom to come among us. Now, as we participate in the building of that Kingdom, we are equipped to be heirs to it.
Paul once again reminds his young church that in Christ they are one. This isn’t actually a new plan. It didn’t just happen because Jesus showed up and a new idea was born. This was God’s plan all along, to “bless all nations,” as he told Abraham. Of course, the blessing was made complete because God did it, and Jesus made the picture complete.
It is a great dream to think of Church divisions being a thing of the past. There are so many different ways of worship, it can be difficult to accept the practice of someone whose belief is different from your own. Paul had a similar struggle in his day (several, in fact) and one of those were between Jews and non-Jews. Were Jews special? Were non-Jews part of a new plan from which Jews were now excluded? But Jesus came to resolve that tension, to close that gap. In him, we are one people, though we certainly need to work harder to live together.
Paul is talking to a group of Christians who have done well, but we all need to be reminded that what we do isn’t what counts, it’ s what Christ has already done. The Ephesian Christians on their best day still needed to rely on Jesus to save them, and the same is true of us today.
As we remember Jesus’ earthly father today, we should be thankful for the institution of adoption. God’s plan was to have the Son be part of an earthly family, not some supernatural institution that would be unfamiliar to us. The Son came to be God with us, and he really was fully with us. Just as Joseph adopted the Son of God as his own, so does God the Father adopt us through our faith in his Son.
Paul opens the letter to the Ephesians with a strong foundation in Christ: not only that he has redeemed us, but that the plan belongs entirely to God. This takes some of the pressure off us, doesn’t it? We certainly can’t save ourselves, but it goes even further: not only does God want our salvation, God is working it out because God is God.
Paul’s letter to Philemon about his slave Philemon is unique. While it is definitely written to the church (he does mention other people and a house church), he is primarily talking to one person about a slave who has become a Christian, and whom Paul wants to be free to continue as a believer instead of a slave. This is a pretty hefty appeal, not only to release Onesimus from penalties, but to treat him as a brother in Christ. It’s a challenge to Philemon’s faith, and hopefully Philemon responded positively.
(sorry I'm late!) Paul has a familiar theme as he closes this letter: bringing the church together. Not only reminding masters in power that they must be fair, but also extending special greetings to specific people and praising the work of several. Can you imagine being present in a small house church, hearing your name read from the letter of Paul? It must have been a great encouragement to these believers, and probably helped smaller house churches get to know one another better.
There is a pattern laid out in this section that Paul takes straight from Jesus: submission and love. It’s illustrated in wives, husbands, children, and slaves, but it’s intended also for the body of Christ, just as Jesus demonstrated it with God the Father: we do not seek power over one another, but we submit to one another in love, and we accept one another in love. Jesus was not the slave of the Father, and his will was not crushed by the Father. They worked together, and submission was required to keep the flow of love going. If we are going to follow this example, we also cannot seek power over others, but we must seek to do what we do in love, and submit to those to whom we should submit.
Paul wants the fledgeling Colossian church to know that what they do matters, their bodies matter. They weren’t spirits, disembodied from a life on earth. They were a body of Christ, made of bodily people, and so they must embody what his life looks like in their own. The same is true of us.
Paul knows that the Church isn't the only place trying to convince people of a particular world view, there are certainly others. Knowing that, he wants to equip his young believers with the tools to keep their mind focused on Christ and not follow every fad that comes down the road.
As Paul continues addressing this young church from his prison cell, he continues to bind them to the thing which holds them fast, even in his absence: Jesus. Faith in Christ is the foundation for all things that follow, so Paul reminds them that Christ is in them, and this is the hope of glory. He’s getting to some details for Christian living, but the foundation of this house is pretty critical.
Paul is writing this letter to the church in Colossae, a new church plant when compared to the Philippian church we just finished. He's giving them something pretty valuable in this opening section: a look at Jesus and why he came. What we believe about Jesus remains critical today, which is why we have creeds recited in many churches. Paul is helping them to understand that Jesus was truly from God, and was working with God the Father in the master plan of the New Kingdom.
Paul gives a pretty full formula to avoid worry in this passage, mostly from his own life. Being content with what you have, keeping your mind on good things, and finding the peace of God. There is another factor as well: sharing in one another’s troubles. It is one thing to be able to train our own minds not to worry, but it is another to be among people who support and love us, helping us through our tough times. This is one of the greatest purposes of the Church.
It is quite a thing to say, “follow my example.” Few would want to put themselves to that kind of scrutiny. Even in doing so, Paul seems to be shedding the things that would make him a hero to follow, including his high status as a Pharisee and an expert in the law. Yet here he is, devoid of accolades, putting himself out front. Of course, he is not there alone. If we are following Jesus, there is always someone in front of us, and if we’re following him, we’re leading others in the right direction.
Paul is certainly living in uncertain times. He is in prison, and his talk of “being poured out like a drink offering” means that he may have also thought he would die there. But God has not left this faithful church without a Shepherd. Paul wants to send both Timothy and Epaphroditus; one is his star pupil, and the other is a Philippian Christian who came to Paul on behalf of them. God brings his body together for his purposes, and his Spirit is with us always to guide all.
Life in Christ is about far more than waiting for our time to live forever with him in Heaven, there are things going on here and now. One of those is imitating him, and that means learning submission. Jesus wasn’t a heartless ruler who wanted everyone to bow to him. He modeled for us something very different: by emptying himself, he set an example that was unlike any other before him. By lowering himself, he set and example for us to submit to him and to one another in love.
We spend a lot of time questioning the motives of ministers, but it seems that Paul didn’t struggle with the same issue. He he says that indeed, some do have the wrong motives. Even in the case of these preachers, Christ is still preached, and that is the most important thing. In a time where people leave a church because they don’t like the music or because they disagree with someone, keeping Christ as our most important priority can sometimes be difficult. It should still be the most important thing.
In the letter from Paul to the church in Philippi, Paul starts by greeting them warmly. These were people he knew. It is likely that this letter was written by Paul while he was in prison, so he probably missed his friends all the more. There is definitely a sense of working not only with the church in that prosperous city, but also of working with God, who would complete the work.
Paul finishes his letter by bring together a whole host of names. This wasn’t just to show that he had a lot of friends. The Roman church was not one he had started, but he had friends there. Also, this section of names does a great deal to reinforce Paul’s “none of us are all-stars” idea that pops up in several of his letters. Everyone needs help, and the Church is designed for us to love and serve one another. These people Paul mentions are with him in that endeavor.
Paul is closing in on the end of the letter, and he is once again bringing together Jew and Gentile. We’ve covered a lot of ground, from the reminder that the Jews are not excluded to the warning that Gentiles are not better believers. Now he puts them into community with one another, showing that both spiritual and material blessings can be shared back and forth. Of course, neither side is only expected to share one thing; all of us should share both. That is the interdependence that Christ left behind, and it should be demonstrated among us in the Church today.
Today starts a season that leads to Easter, and we begin with repentance. Many churches will be observing this with ashes, a reminder of our own mortality. As we approach this season, remembering the sacrifice Jesus made for us, it is a loving response to make a sacrifice of our own. Whether this is part of your faith tradition or not, it is a good practice to keep in mind peace we have with God, given to us by our Savior, as we walk the road to the cross.
Just as in the last chapter Paul talked about how Christians are not purely spiritual creatures who need not worry about what's going on around them, in this chapter he reminds them that being followers of Christ does not free them from being law-abiding citizens. Of course, several of the commandments are also no-brainers on both sides (no Christian would kill someone and think it was okay by Jesus), but generally, Christians should be members of their community at large so that the community of Christ may be among their neighbors.
Since Paul opened the letter to the Romans with some pretty weighty spiritual and historical stuff (the Law, salvation, and a healthy dose of theology) now he brings it to street level: the gospel is also bodily, and we are the body of Christ. These things he has been teaching are not to float in space, like ideas that never touch the ground. How we treat one another really matters, and that is where salvation takes on skin. Love must be sincere, and harmony should be sought.
Paul certainly does not wish to make the Gentiles think that God has prestiged them above the Gentiles, as that would be breaking his own covenant. As Paul said before, “not all Israel is Israel.” Not all who are children of Abraham are followers of Christ, and both are needed. Still, Israel is the original promise. It has not gone away, but those outside Israel are included in that enduring promise, “grafted in” like a tree. God doesn’t change, but he is always working to redeem us.
Paul returns to complete a thought from earlier in his letter, about the enfolding of both Jew and Gentile in the new law of Christ. This time, he has put it after a section about salvation belonging to God (yesterday’s reading from Romans 9), so it is worth repeating. Salvation indeed is God’s, but all can accept. He also extends another challenge, to share Christ. How can anyone accept that which they have never heard?
Since Paul has talked about our redemption in Christ, he turns now to a problem that must surely have kept him up at night: what about the Jewish people? Didn't they reject Jesus? While they certainly did, Paul does bring a bit of peace into the middle of his discussion. Of course, God is capable of redeeming anyone. And not the entire Jewish world is flatly rejected because of the work of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. The promise of Abraham, as Paul already said, is about faith. Jews and Gentiles alike can hold to that promise, and rejection is not doled out to all God's children of the promise. God is still in the redeeming business.
Paul has been working out the idea of grace and salvation, our status with God and our identity in Christ. Now he makes another thing clear: that salvation is God’s alone, we are not earning it. This should be the best of news, because we cannot be taken away from him.
Good news to finish Paul’s thought: even though the Law brought awareness of sin and the closeness of death, we have Christ. With the Spirit dwelling within us and Christ working through us, the death of the law need not govern us. We have the Spirit of Life, and that is made possible because of the victory of Christ.
Paul is still building his message. The cross is for all, we all enter by faith. But now he comes back a step: the work the law is only to point out the sin in our lives, it cannot give life. He makes that point with his discussion on coveting. Don’t give up, though. This chapter talks about a sort of hopeless situation with the Law, but chapter 8 will complete the thought.
Paul has made two steps from the previous chapters to get her: because of Christ, both Jews and Gentiles are saved through faith like that of Abraham. Because of that faith, salvation is Gods; it is not because of anything we do. The next step seems pretty logical. Because God has done that work, doesn’t that mean that we’re pretty much off the hook? Can’t we do what we want anyway, because God will save us of his own accord? But of course that is not what a redeemed life looks like. If we died with Christ, we died to sin. Life in Christ is free from that slavery, and so we should no longer be bound to that life. It is part of our past, and Jesus is our future. That should motivate us for a very different present.
It the last chapter, Paul talked about how Jew and Gentile both enter the presence of God by faith. Now he takes it a step further: once in the presence of God, we have the work of Christ bringing salvation. Just as Adam brought the Fall, so one man rises from that Fall, and that is always Jesus. We need no other source of redemption.
God's design for his children was always that they have faith in his salvation. This was the thing that Abraham had both before and after the promise was made by God, and it is the pattern for us today. As Paul discusses, it is common to both Jews and Gentiles. Jews have the promise of Abraham that includes his faith, and Gentiles can show faith in the same way as Abraham did.
Paul is making the ground at the foot of the cross level. Speaking as a Jew, it means a lot that he folds in the promise of Abraham into the Gentiles. That would have probably still been a little scandalous among many Jews. It’s also a somewhat turbulent time in Rome, the city to which Paul wrote. Jews had actually been expelled from the city during Paul’s life, and there probably would have been tension between them and other groups. He brings that all to Christ in this part of the letter, because only in Christ are all redeemed.
At the end of chapter 1, Paul made a list of ways that people fail to honor God: everything from sexual sins to disobeying parents. This is a pretty wide range, and we would certainly treat those two things very differently. But now he brings that list into a different light: we are all sinners before God, equally broken. We cannot judge, we must leave that work to God. He also brings his Jewish upbringing into the picture as well, pointing out that both Jew and Gentile find condemnation and redemption. It’s an attempt at unity that we might be wise to mimic.
Paul starts off his letter to the Christians in Rome by departing from his Jewish scholarship and appealing more to the Word the the Spirit writes on their hearts. The Spirit has the ability to move us, but we certainly have the capacity to move against it. When we do so, we take on a long list of qualities, and Paul names several. If we wish to be closer to God’s heart, it’s not a bad idea to keep a lookout for those things in our life.
A spiritual father is still accountable to keep his flock focused on the right thing, and Paul has scolded the Corinthians many times throughout this letter. As he ends the letter, his frustration with them remains unhidden. This is difficult to hear if we're looking for positivity and encouragement, but we need a person in our lives who is willing to be that real with us, even better if it happens to be someone who tries to model Jesus when they do so. That was certainly Paul: while he was stern, his concern was always for the good of the Church.
Remember back in chapter 7 when Paul talked about the value of Godly sorrow? He certainly doesn’t let him off the hook for that very thing. Certainly he has had his share, and he has talked a lot about that. Now it gets personal. Paul hasn’t just struggled with circumstantial things, but also with a nagging issue. He wears it almost as a badge of honor, because while God didn’t take it away (whatever it was), God remained close and continued extended grace.
Paul isn’t claiming foolishness because he’s lost his mind, he’s drawing it out to show a contrast with his rivals. It’s foolishness to try and be a “super apostle” because all apostles should point to Christ, not themselves. So Paul launches into his own credentials, holding it up against those who were against him. It’s a goofy comparison, and that’s exactly what he wanted to Corinthians to see.
Clearly Paul has his critics in Corinth, and he's back to defending himself. It must have been a tough line to walk: imitating Christ, trying to take leadership, showing authority, and trying to remain humble. Paul must have had his failures. Still, he remained their pastor, so he couldn't cut them loose. He needed to keep their trust, because the body of Christ must function as one.
Giving is about more than doing what we should, it’s creating bonds between us and those to whom we give. This is a flow that is shown to us by God: we weren’t deserving, but he gave to us. That kind of outward flow is something we should practice because doing so brings us closer to God’ heart.
Being willing to give to others isn’t a condition of our salvation, that is the work of Christ and the gift of God. But giving to others is an indication of where our heart might be. If we hold everything to ourselves, we have missed the opportunities of being connected to our brothers and sisters, meeting their needs, and helping them be whole. We cannot give away all that Christ has given to us, but we certainly ought to be willing to give what we can.
Sorry isn’t something we seek out, it’s not something we would choose to have in our lives. It does still have a purpose. Paul gives it to other believers if it can become a way for them to be restored to God, and that’s a much more important objective than momentary happiness. Of course, we shouldn’t go around breaking people down for our own purposes. We should also have their restoration in mind if we take such a measure.
Paul is exercising his oratory gifts in this passage by listing the hardships of following Christ, and the need to remain faithful through both good and bad. This has followed a passage where he talks about being Christ’s ambassadors, so perhaps he didn’t want to make his listeners think they were getting an easy ride? Whatever the reasons, it is certainly an honor to be Christ’s ambassador, but it isn’t an easy calling. Thank God that we are not alone.
Life in Christ is truly supernatural. Not that we have some sort of super power, but that we are moved by Christ, and that the way he moves us changes our entire view of life. Being the ambassador of Christ is no small task, and it requires transformation. He offers the Sprit for nothing less.
Paul is bringing something very personal into the conversation: the death of Christ, carried around in our bodies. Remember in the last chapter he talked about how the Spirit brings life? This is where it comes into our own personal bubbles. We are co-heirs with Christ, and so we carry Christ’s death, resurrection, and redemption. This is a promise that cannot be taken from us. This is our victory.
Paul has gotten mostly past his unpleasantness, now he brings some of his Jewish scholarship back to the letter. It’s a great contrast: how the glory of Moses (the human symbol of the law) was apt to fade, but not life in the Spirit. It’s the different between Life and death. This must have been especially personal to Paul, since the first part of his life was dedicated to that very law that he now claimed could never bring life. This doesn’t mean we should throw out the Old Testament, but we should see the fulfillment that came through Jesus when we read the whole story.
Paul starts this second letter by being cordial, but also defending himself a bit. It seems there has come a bit of a tension between him and the church. According to Craig Keener, the church may have thought Paul was a bit late in visiting, and Paul seems to think that the Corinthians needed a bit of a rebuke. Paul is defending his decision about travel, and you can be pretty sure that he’ll still correct them if he thinks they require it, since he is their spiritual father.
As Paul finishes his first letter to the Corinthians, he takes care of a few housekeeping items, reminding the young church to be faithful in their giving and loving to one another. This might seem like something to rush through because the important stuff is over, but it’s really not. This is a great picture of life in community. Paul has been at times harsh with them, at times he has been like a stern father. Now he is speaking to them about family matters, because at the end of the day, that is what they must remain: the family of God.
Resurrection was not just Jesus’s thing. He came first but that will be our future as well. God will give us all new bodies, spiritual bodies that are raised to live forever with him. This is the perfection that God seeks for us, the undoing of the Fall, and the best future we could possibly imagine.
The resurrection is central to the Christian faith. Not just because it makes Christ unique in his deity, but because it’s a preview of our own coming attraction. This is a promise from God that better things are coming, and that we will follow Christ in resurrection to a new kind of life. No other religion has a risen Savior, and we are bound to Christ because of the working of God.
This passage is not meant to keep women from being equals. Both the section on tongues and the section on how women were to act in worship both revolve around order. According to scholar Craig Keener, women in Greek tradition were not traditionally well-educated and didn’t participate in public forums, so that would have been way out of line in their culture. Paul wanted to keep the emphasis on God, and not the people asking questions. Certainly, that culture is neither current nor universal.
Speaking in tongues is a bit of a contentious point in many Christian circles, and entire denominations have been sparked from their opinion on the issue. Paul did this, so it is certainly a Biblical action. Paul speaks pretty clearly on the issue, though: if you’re going to speak in tongues, it should be to build up the body. Where we’ve been in the letter to the Corinthians supports this. Don’t separate yourself, love one another, and worship in a way that allows you do do those things well.
In this well-known verse, Paul brings it home. Why has he taught not to create divisions? What brings us closer to the Spirit of God, that unleashes the gifts of the Spirit? It is always love. It is what God shows us purely, and if we are following Jesus, it must become the biggest part of our new nature.
Paul has reminded the young church at Corinth of how to treat one another, now he tells them why: you are all equally one in the Spirit. The order was important, because we aren’t ready to find our identity in Christ until we release our own ideas. Once we come close to him, find our true identity, and start following, the gifts of the Spirit follow. Those gifts are meant to build up the body of Christ, just as laying aside our ego does.
“No doubt there have been differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.” This is probably the bridging verse in this section of Paul’s letter. He is not complimenting the Corinthians, as he says multiple times. He is pointing out the harm they are doing to their own body. Separating into multiple meals separates the rich from the poor, leaving the poor behind. Separating the modest from the less modest (in terms of head coverings) also divides. This connects back to what Paul said in the previous chapter about doing eating and drinking to the glory of God. This time, though, he isn’t talking about food offered to idols. He’s talking about food among people and the things that bring the body of Christ together.
In the pantheon of gods found in the Roman world, it would have been easy for followers of Jesus to look like another fad. Eating food sacrificed to false gods would have been commonplace, especially among the poor. Paul wanted the young Church to distinguish itself. Not only was their conduct to be different, but their spiritual practice wasn’t to be just another option in a buffet of spiritual options. It was their only option, because it defined them. That must have been really difficult to accomplish in a place like Corinth, but the believers needed to support one another both practically and spiritually.
Paul seems to be defending himself in this section of his letter. Apparently, there were some drawing divisions between him and the apostles who had actually walked with Jesus, possibly even saying that he was somehow lesser. His response is direct: I am an apostle because I have produced the fruit of an apostle, and you are that fruit. Perhaps because of this strong stance, he also backs off a bit, reminding the Corinthians of the importance of building one another up by joining the struggles of others, as he did often.
Paul has spent a few chapters on accountability within the church, now he looks outward. Just as the sexual ethic of the Corinthians should reflect their respect for people created in the image of God, so should daily practice reflect the Church teaching new believers how to live be exemplifying it. Certainly, in that situation, there was no room for “do as I say, not what I do.” Paul wanted them to live what they preached.
There is a LOT going on in this passage, and Paul almost seems to crisscross himself. Sometimes he seems to be a hardcore defender of marriage, other times he seems to hate it. Several things are key in this passage. One, the first sentence: “the matters you wrote about.” This is only half the conversation, Paul is answering their questions. We’re only getting one side of this conversation, so we must remember that. Two: an important section of this verse is is near the end, where Paul says “live in a right way, in undivided devotion to the Lord.” And point three: Corinth was a city noted for its sexual immorality, so Paul may have just been trying to educate them how to act like basic, decent people. The “devotion to the Lord” to which he was challenging them was, at the basic level, the summary of how people in such a free-loving town should act if they are servants of Christ, and the rest of this is certainly the detailed explanation of that call. And all in all, it is the way we follow Jesus that should remain our focus.
Is it possible to live the way that Paul is describing? Just before this, he was talking about calling one another to account. Now he is describing a situation where we conduct legal matters between believers within the church itself. Does that happen anywhere? It's a radical picture of how we should be bound together, so maybe it's worth a try.
Paul is introducing some tough stuff here: accountability. The body of Christ isn’t just a place to be accepted no matter what you do. What we do matters, both to one another and to God. He is describing cutting off an immoral church member, not an outsider. When we become part of Christ, it means we submit not only to Him, but to one another. Only by the Spirit’s guidance can we do this wisely.
Paul is doing the last of his work to tear down the Corinthians’ focus on earthly heroes (such as himself) by portraying himself and Apollos as servants, even those in the place of slaves. If his previous argument didn’t work, this one should drive it home. Just as Jesus said, “the first shall be last, and the last shall be first,” Paul is giving that picture full color.
Paul probably isn’t out to insult his audience by calling them babies. Well… maybe a little. But he is trying to dislodge them from their obsession with hero worship. Since he is one of the heroes, he means to remove even himself from that tangle, and point them back to Christ. Truly, this could only come from a person who had already been transformed themselves.
Paul isn’t advocating stupidity in this verse. What he is saying, and this means a lot coming from someone as greatly educated as he, was that knowledge of the Spirit is given by the Spirit. In a community of Romans and Greeks, this must have rankled a few. Greeks especially valued their education. While education can teach us about God, only the Spirit can allow us to know God. Waiting for God to reveal himself, putting ourselves in his hands, is not a process that can be taught by merely reading about it.
As Paul opens his letter to the Corinthians, he isn't telling them that they can't think for themselves. That kind of message would have fallen flat with a Greek and Roman audience, which Corinth was. By trying to encourage them to be in agreement, he was encouraging unity in the essentials, which is where their struggle lay. They are faithful, but they are tied up in the superstars of the day. Paul, Apollos, and Cephas (or Peter) were giants in the early church, and they were identifying with the celebrities instead of being united in Christ. They are to embrace the community that was created by Jesus, even though its message defies earthly logic and makes us citizens of a very different Kingdom.
Is Paul being too rough on people who "don't work"? This is certainly not a condition of salvation. We belong to Christ, even if we are lazy. This is why Paul, at the end, says these folks should still be treated as fellow believers. But if we are part of the body of Christ, we must be functioning parts. If we aren't contributing our gifts, then the place God has given us to serve will not be filled, and we will not know the full joy of this kind of community.
As Paul continues talking to those whom he has already commended for their faithfulness, he goes a bit deeper. There are some pretty weight spiritual matters in this section, including resurrection, the Antichrist, and false prophets. Paul wants the Thessalonians to know that they have not missed the resurrection, that the Antichrist is yet to come, and they must be careful not to follow false prophets. And of course, all this can be wrapped up in a simple command: follow Jesus. Be obedient.
Paul writes once again to the Thessalonians, and it seems that they have been attentive to what he asked in the first letter. He is complimenting the things he was encouraging them to do. It’s interesting that they don’t seem to be done with their diligence. Paul prays that God may make them “worthy of his calling,” and only God can do that. No amount of good works can put us in a place where we are finished, but it is God working in us constantly to bring us ever closer to himself.
Looking outward, building the Kingdom of Christ, is important. That’s not what Paul is emphasizing as he ends the letter to the Thessalonians, however. He’s reminding them that they owe a debt of love to one another within the body of Christ, because of the sacrifice of Christ for all of us. When a community is dedicated to loving one another well, they will become a community that others want to join.
Christ truly is our hope. This goes beyond life; he also holds the doorway to eternal life. This is a great comfort, and must have been present with those in the early Church when they suffered persecution and martyrdom. If Christ holds us secure, none can take us away from him.
The two loves that Paul contrasts in this passage could not be more different. One is a passionate, bodily lust, the other is a love which grows in the Spirit of Christ to make us more like Jesus. One objectifies people for their bodies, the other sees the image of God in the other. It is a great challenge to learn to love the way Jesus loves, which is why it is necessary for us to continue encouraging one another.
Paul is very pastoral in this section, expressing deep affection for the church at Thessalonica. They have obviously been in his thoughts, and he has put resources into staying in touch with them despite setbacks. He has been talking about life in community together, but this is her personal touch. It’s also a pretty good glimpse into the depth of love we should have for one another.
Paul paints a great picture of what the Church should look like. Accepting God’s word as that of God, not of people. Sharing lives together. Leaving wrath and judgement to God and turning our focus to becoming imitators of other believers and our Savior. It’s almost Utopian, but it’s not impossible. The same Spirit that bound them together in love is still ours today.
The Old and New Testament readings today are really interesting to hold next to one another. On one hand, you have Jeremiah, preaching a pretty dismal message at the temple gates to people who have abandoned the very God they claim to go there to worship. Then you have the letter to the Thessalonians, whom Paul, Silas, and Timothy (their names at the beginning mean that it was from them, not to them) commend for doing the very opposite: laying down their idols to follow Christ. We can also see the difference in the rest of their lives: the Thessalonians were an example to other churches, while the Hebrew people to whom Jeremiah was speaking had become cruel oppressors of the defenseless. It's not hard to figure out which way we should be going.
Paul finishes his letter to the Galatians by reminding them of a few more practical issues. What matters is Christ, and it is Christ in whom we live. This changes things. No longer are we to follow the path set by the world around us, but we are to see a better path. Christ is coming to restore all things, and we can get a head start by living in the way he exemplified.
Instead of just the story of the visit of the Magi today, we have a verse from John to remind us what Jesus' coming means. It's more than just God showing up to walk around. It's the opening of the door to a new king of Kingdom where the Spirit is plentiful and available to all. Jesus made amazing wine from water, which probably made him pretty popular at the party. Of course, he did more than that. He set the stage to bring wholeness and healing to all, fulfilling the covenant with Abraham and including us all.
Paul is getting to the point of his argument. It’s not about the theology of law vs. grace. It’s about where our focus lies when we believe the law to be superior. Life in the Spirit is our goal, and that life looks very different than chasing after a purity standard. If we are living in the Spirit, we aren’t focused on the condemnation of what we do wrong. We get Paul’s list of fruits, and those bring blessings to ourselves and others.
Paul decides to come into the discussion about the law by bringing Abraham (the father of the nation) into play. Issac was the son God promised, but Ishmael (the son by the slave woman) was the son that Abraham produced of his own accord. Ishmael was not the son of the promise, but he was still a son. God’s working out of the covenant works the same way: the law was a framework, it was a glimpse into what the fullness of the covenant could be, just like Ishmael as a son was a glimpse of what having a son could be. But it was not the end of the story. The fullness of the covenant came with Jesus, just as the fullness of God’s covenant came after Ishmael, with Isaac.
Paul seems to be splitting a few doctrinal hairs with this talk about law and Jesus, but it does matter. What he is saying is that God’s covenant with Abraham, is fulfilled in Christ, and that matters tremendously. That means that the old covenant with Abraham isn’t null; it’s fulfilled. If our faith is in Christ then we receive the benefit of that fulfilled covenant, which is the reward that is only give to those who are in Jesus.
In this second chapter of Galatians, there is a lot going on. Paul is establishing a fairly critical piece of theology that defined the Christian Church vs. historical Judaism: that the law convicts and brings death, but Christ gives life. He is trying to bring that live to the early church, but of course it was no small task. Even Peter (called “Cephas” several times here, the Aramaic version of his name) didn’t always get it right, and Paul got fiery about it. He called Peter out in front of others which was more than a rebuke of a man. It was a stand in favor of a united Church. Don’t worry, though. The two of them will still be working together!
Today we start a new year, and also remember the day when Jesus received his name in Jewish tradition. That is a pretty big deal, because that’s the very name that Philippians 2:10 says will cause every knee to bow. We also have a passage from Paul to the Galatians that reminds us that Jesus is enough, his authority is more than that of men. (And lest we think that we can claim that same authority instead of being accountable to others, remember that Paul says Jesus face to face!)
The King at last! John has been before Jesus before, but this time it is different. This is not merely the man he walked beside, but a King to rule all other kings. It is telling that he falls down before the angel, even though he knew it was not Jesus. The atmosphere must have been overwhelming. This was his future, and it is ours as well. Come soon, Lord Jesus.
This grand city isn’t the thing we’re following Jesus for; Jesus himself is enough and we should be content with him. Still, it’s a pretty good retirement plan! It’s intriguing that part of John’s dream is measuring, because Jesus did say he was going to prepare a place, and this is it. God will abolish sadness and pain, and we will be worshiping him for eternity as we have been on earth.
Here at the end of the calendar year, we take a look at what a new beginning will look like, and it’s all God’s design. We’re passing the judgments and getting to what God was all about: a new Heaven and earth where he will live among his people. This is why we worship: because we need to be people well-acquainted with worship. This is why we become disciples: because that will be our main identity in that amazing place.
As we remember the slaughter of the innocents after the birth of Jesus, we must also remember that God is concerned for the suffering of innocents. Jesus opened the Sermon on the Mount by lifting up the rejected. In Jeremiah, we see a picture of God restoring his scattered people. Even in today’s verse from Revelation, we see the flip side: those who have oppressed the innocent are dealt with harshly in judgement. God takes it seriously because of his great love for us.
We actually have two writings from John today, on the day of his feast. Remembering him is best done with both Revelation and his Gospel. He makes a point of shooting down the idea that he would live forever, but it's more than verification of him as some sort of super hero. He would never want to distract from what Jesus has done and will do, and we see that in Revelation, as Jesus begins to judge the powers. It's a Lord that John would never try to upstage, even in his own book He doesn't even use his own name, but rather calls himself, "the disciple Jesus loved." Is there any greater title?
On the day when we remember Stephen, our passage from Revelation is actually very appropriate. Stephen was a victim of the powers, rules who had the authority to sentence him to death for his witness to Christ. In his final speech, he also has a bit to say about waiting on God. Abraham and David had to yield some of their own hopes and dreams, as both of them had disappointments that might have almost seemed like God not keeping his promises. Of course, that’s not what God does. If we learn to trust God, we will find the faith that God is making the world right, working for our good, even that’s not what our world looks like right now.
Our Savior is born! While this physical event is obviously not happening today, it still has deep meaning for our lives. Because Christ has come, the victory is already sealed in him. This also includes victory over worldly kingdoms that think they have absolute power; they do not. That Savior born in a manger thousands of years ago remains at the right hand of the Father, and the world is his.
It’s Christmas Eve, and it feels a little odd to be in Revelation. Still, God coming to live among man is relevant to Revelation. It was one of God’s many attempts to let himself be known to mankind, so that we can learn to be more like him. In this chapter of Revelation, we see God in his wrath giving man one of the last chances. God needs us to be followers of Jesus so that we will be ready for life with him, and pouring our the wrath is intended to bring all who will come in the last days. We see that he is still rejected, even hated, by many. Such was the case when Jesus came as well.
If God did not judge wickedness, He could not be a holy God. This is what is coming: the unfurling of final judgement and the preservation of the Church. The Church is not the one doing the fighting, though, that action is reserved for God. As we draw closer to the time of God restoring creation (sorry, spoiler!) God is keeping his people close to him, and their suffering has not been in vain. Their (our) place is in worship, God’s place is in judgement.
There is a LOT going on in this chapter of Revelation, so it might be helpful to situate ourselves somewhat in the position of its original audience. The Romans had probably already destroyed Jerusalem and the temple prior to this book being written, and that time was full of intense suffering. The suffering of God’s people does not go unnoticed by him, and worship can still emerge from the madness his people encounter. We do see his chosen ones caught up with him as a precious possession, worship continuing past the madness, and God reigning supreme. If you had the destruction of your religious center in your memory, this would have been a very good thing to know.
Thomas has gotten a pretty scathing title through the years: “Doubting Thomas.” He was certainly the one who piped up demanding proof, and he was the one asking the hard question before Jesus in this case as well. But Jesus did not reject him. He didn’t cast him out as a heretic. He kept Thomas in the group of 12, and kept answering his questions. This should encourage us because our questions are also welcome.
Here's a version of the Christmas story you're not likely to hear read to the children this week! Christ came as a man, and certainly Satan tried to destroy him. The victory was always Christ's, it was never in question. This is the Savior we serve. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and he will fight for us.
In this chapter of Revelation, prophecy precedes worship. Witnesses preach the word, but it is ignored, even despised. Their death is celebrated. After that, worship continues. This act of worship is the point, the prophets are merely preparing the way for what will come much later. We worship God now for many of the same reasons: we are preparing for an eternity before our Lord.
This time of judgement is to be a bitter time indeed. Not only for those who have rejected Christ, but for those who have followed him. To observe judgement will not be pleasant. We can actually take some peace from the passage from Wisdom of Solomon: God has already put us to the test, and this testing in judgement will not be to judge us. And of course, this whole show is being run by the Jesus we know. He is on our side if we have followed him faithfully.
A LOT of wild visuals in this verse today. Evil is being let loose, and it is doing its work. It is not running rampant because God hates mankind, though, very much the opposite. For Christ to complete the work of God and bring the new Heaven and earth, the things that need to be purified are brought out. Death and destruction are their tools, and they do their job all too well.
We’re in the part of the book now that people generally think of when they hear “Revelation,” when destruction and mayhem seem to be aimed from God toward the earth. There is indeed fire, and certainly there is destruction. This isn’t in chaos or rage, however, because remember: we know Jesus, and his plans are for our good. In this moment, though, his holiness is taking center stage. He is purifying the earth to make way for the fulfillment of God’s ultimate plan, and that plan cannot include sin.
Not only is Jesus running the show in this crazy book, but he has not forgotten his people. Israel is there, front and center, but so is the "vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe." What are they present to do? Worship. This is why worship in the here and now is so important: it's not just a thing we do as earth-dwellers, but something we will be doing for all eternity. Standing before God, it's really our only logical response.
Why would the Prince of Peace give someone the authority to take peace from the earth? Isn’t that exactly what he came to bring? Well, yes. But the Peace Christ will bring is a new Heaven and a new earth, and we’re not to that part yet. Before that happens, things are going to get pretty crazy in this book. Remember though, we know this guy. The same Jesus who touched lepers is the Jesus who restrains all of these things, and he has a plan. Don’t give up yet!
As the events of Revelation start to unfold, we should be very encouraged by one enduring truth: it is about Jesus, and we are well-acquainted with who he is. Amid the action that will follow in this book, it can become very easy to forget that. Remember, though, that it was the humility and love that Jesus showed that put him in his place of power, and he did not become someone else when he ascended to the right hand of the Father. He is still that person, and that person is the one who rules throughout Revelation.
Imagine what it must be like to have the worship of God as your main task. Of course, we are supposed to be learning that very skill before we come before God's presence, and it's a skill that takes a lifetime without ever fully becoming complete. But the creatures in this picture are committed to the task. Surely it's not boring... can anything be more fascinating than God?
The two churches in today’s letters couldn’t be more different. Philadelphia is surrounded by enemies but perseveres, while Laodicea is thriving by lukewarm. Still, both are included. Laodicea is given a warning, but they’re not cut off. Not yet, anyway. Philadelphia is faithful to their calling, even under perilous times. Do you wonder if the trials they face might have made them more faithful? It’s a tough pill to swallow, but sometimes our struggles do bring us closer to God.
Some symbolism is starting to become part of John’s narrative, especially when he describes false prophets. We’re still in the specific letters to churches, and this is certain: just being part of a church isn’t enough. Being a follower of Jesus means hearing the Spirit and obeying what God asks. It doesn’t mean going out on your own, creating a false way that isn’t the way of Jesus. There are harsh words for those who do such things.
Revelation is a book for the whole church, but there were specific churches receiving it in John’s time. Here with the messages to Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum, we can see that the message of Revelation isn’t intended to fly right over the heads of the early believers. It was meant to both challenge and encourage them, something they certainly needed. They lordship of Christ was always their foundation, but they all had to remain diligent to being the body of Christ in the here and now.
Revelation is probably the most debated book in the entire Bible. Some have tried to make it all literal, as if the wild visions will come true in full embodiment. Others have tried to reduce to entirely to symbolism. There is a lot of both, and then there is a mix of letters written directly to its audience of several churches in Asia. Whatever follows, this introduction has a couple very important points: God is the beginning and the end, and Jesus is King. Also, Jesus has not changed his nature. The humble servant we see in the gospels is the same Jesus that will appear throughout this book, so take heart, have peace: he is still your Savior, and he still loves you.
Paul really seems to be using his past problems with the Jewish leadership to gain an audience in Rome. Do you get the sense that he sort of tosses out that he had been opposed to gain their ear? Whether or not that was his intention it, worked. Some believed, and this was Paul's central mission.
If you feel shipwrecked, look around for what God is still doing. Paul was, but God still had things for him to do on the island where he found himself. What if Paul had been blinded by despair? What if he had been bitter toward his captors? Because he wasn't, the Gospel was able to spread to the island of Malta.
There probably haven’t been very many times in history where law enforcement were thankful to have a prisoner with them, but Paul is exceptional. Not only was God sparing him in this shipwreck, but his presence meant saving the lives of all aboard. This is what the Kingdom is all about: lives so full of God that those around us sometimes reap the benefits, even if they aren’t fully decided themselves.
I really wonder if Paul putting the, “I am sending you to the Gentiles” piece so emphatically into his story didn’t stick with the court that day. He wasn’t just telling his own story or defending his knowledge of Jewish customs, he was unveiling something for the very people in the room. That must have been very difficult. When we’re in trouble, it’s easy to focus on the trouble, but Paul remembered that even the Roman rulers were invited to join the Kingdom of God. Agrippa recognized what he was doing, posing the question, "Can you persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?" Perhaps he did.
Paul is about to meet Agrippa, who was a regional governor. Since Paul appealed to Caesar, Festus is really just trying to pawn his decision off on middle management -- the ruler between himself and Caesar. Meanwhile, Paul remains in prison.
Do you wonder if there was some spreading of the Kingdom as Paul was in prison? It happened everywhere else he went, so why wouldn’t it occur there? We are reading about Paul sitting in prison for two years, but you can be certain he was still preaching to anyone who would listen. I can’t help but wonder if Paul’s prison term wasn’t responsible for little seats of the Way popping up all over the Roman Empire.
Someone who has done nothing wrong has nothing to be ashamed of, and Paul certainly fits that description. Were the people he offended not in power, it is unlikely that Felix would have ever heard this trial. As it was, that’s exactly who he offended. Paul told the story the same way he has done over and over: he follows the law, but he also follows the Way (an early expression of Christianity). He doesn’t back down because he has been shown a far better way than the powers can ever provide.
Today we remember Andrew, who was an apostle of John, then followed Jesus. That is kind of a wild part of his life to consider: he heard John’s preaching and wanted to be his disciple. But John’s purpose was to point to Jesus, and he could scarcely hold anyone back from finding that ultimate truth. So should it be with us: while we might be tempted to promote our own talents, the best we have to offer is still Jesus.
Again Paul uses his Roman citizenship to save his own life, as well as some help from his family. Roman citizenship was a big deal because the Romans were running that part of the world, and their protection was ironclad. While Christianity was far from the official religion of the empire (that would happen later) they were doing their part thanks to Paul to help grow the Church!
Paul uses his Roman citizenship to get himself out of a few scrapes. This is pretty strong proof that sometimes, it is in line with the Spirit to show a little cunning. Paul had a purpose in the Kingdom that couldn’t be fulfilled if he were dead, and God certainly had a plan in mind when he made this Roman citizen a traveling evangelist at the critical point of the early Church.
Our story has power when it’s intertwined with the story of the Spirit. Paul is, without a doubt, someone whose story is intertwined in just such a way. While his audience turned on him at the end, there was still power in what he was telling. It’s been said that if nobody disagrees with you, what you say doesn’t hold much strength. If that’s true, then Paul’s delivery on those steps was both Spirit-filled and powerful.
This scene really is chaos. It’s no wonder: here we have a man who used to be a Jewish leader, teaching a gospel he tried to destroy, teaching other Jews that the laws they had followed all their lives were not God’s final plan. Add to that the inclusion of non-Jews in this new Kingdom, and you really do have a recipe for sheer confusion. Paul stood in that gap, though, and it must have taken immense patience. He endured pain and hardship in the name of this new Kingdom, and we are all part of the fruits of his committing to that work of the Spirit.
The spreading of the Kingdom of Christ isn’t about abstracts, it’s also about the work of the people he has chosen to be involved. This episode of prophecy being used to warn Paul of danger, trying to discourage him from going to a place where his life might be in danger, is an example of that. We are part of God’s plan just as Paul was, and God preserves us for his purposes.
The theme of two of today’s passages is being faithful. Both in Ecclesiasticus as we observe our security being held by God, and Paul’s painful decision to follow the Spirit despite the outcome. It’s a good lesson for us, because it’s not always easy to remain focused on the security we have in God. Sometimes, we’re weighed down by the distractions of whatever is closest to us.
Don’t fall asleep during the sermon! This is a pretty extreme example of what can happen if you do. Although in the defense of the young man who fell asleep, it was a long, long sermon. Still, Paul was ready to see to him, and it certainly must have been one of the more meaningful Lord’s Supper observations in the entire New Testament afterward!
Sometimes the thing we seem to be fighting isn’t really the thing we’re fighting. So it was with the Ephesian silversmiths who brought a crowd into the public square to complain about Paul. So it is with us today, if we aren’t attentive to the Spirit and also to those around us. Perhaps this is also why Paul wrote to the Ephesians that we, “wrestle not against flesh and blood.” Keeping our focus on Christ sometimes means that we overlook the closest problem to find the real one.
The Spirit was moving in a unique way around Paul, and bringing wholeness to peoples’ bodies in connection with the Kingdom of Christ was one of many things going on. But it was not about the tricks, as the Sons of Sceva demonstrate. If God wanted his children to do tricks, be would have made us all magicians. That’s not what we are, of course. We’re messengers with an important story to tell, and we’re accompanied by the Spirit of God, doing what only God can do.
Introducing Apollos into the narrative is proof that the growth of the early Church wasn’t just limited to apostles and Paul. The Sprit was raising up people outside those circles, because the Spirit was the one doing the work. How fortunate that the growth of the Kingdom wasn’t limited to a few celebrity preachers. If that had been the case, it probably wouldn’t have lasted past the first century. Luckily, it was about the work of a living Spirit working in many different places.
Paul really does have a heart for the Jewish people. He also appears to be getting pretty exasperated with them, shaking the dust from his clothes at Corinth to say, basically, “you’re on your own.” But then a few verses later, he’s right back with another group of Jews, trying again to convince them of Jesus’ Lordship. That is the mark of a true calling. It’s not yours because it’s easy, it’s your calling because you can do nothing else.
God is creating opportunities for Paul at every turn. He was waiting for his traveling company in Athens, but God had other plans. Paul finds himself in a myriad of false gods, and he takes that opportunity to use one of the very pagan sculptures to teach hungry hearts about Jesus. Certainly, the Spirit is moving in ways we don’t see. We must keep ourselves in prayer and stay attentive to what that looks like.
You have to give Paul credit for staying with his commitment to the Jewish people. While he definitely saw lots of converts to Christ from among the Jews, he also encountered fierce opposition. It would have been so much easier to forget about the Jews and just go to the Gentiles. But that’s not what he did. Although it was difficult, he stuck with the mission because he knew that God had not abandoned the Jews.
A lot of wild things are going on in this passage today. Paul and Silas are blocked from going where they thing they ought to, and find themselves in a town with a fortune teller and a family of believers. The Spirit has gone ahead of them, though. There among this odd crowd, they find entire households ready to receive the word they have to bring.
Just after yesterday’s reading about the church coming together to be of one Spirit, today we have Paul and Barnabas parting ways because of a disagreement. This seems like a pretty big deal, since both of those guys were giants in the early church. The Spirit is still at work, though, and the parting of ways certainly brings about fruit that we can see in the Bible. John Mark wrote the gospel of Mark, and Paul met Timothy, who he mentored very closely. It makes you wonder… what if Paul and Barnabas has stayed together? Would John Mark have been mentored to write his gospel? Would Timothy have become a young pastor? It’s impossible to know, but we can be pretty certain that God was working even in this division.
If you think churches don’t need to be linked together, here’s a great example of why that might actually be a good idea. In its earliest days, members of the church were guided deeply by the Spirit. That Spirit was bringing new wisdom to the believers, but it wasn’t broadcast directly from Heaven to everyone’s ears. They still needed one another, needed to come together to agree on the moving of the Spirit. This prevents celebrity cults from erupting within churches, and also keeps church accountable to one another. And of course, all are accountable to Christ.
The church is really wrangling with the way Christianity should look. Since it started among the Jews, of course they think it should look Jewish. Jesus was Jewish, after all. But strange things are happening, and the Spirit seems to be moving among the Gentiles. Spoiler alert: we’re going to keep it all about Jesus. It doesn’t belong only to the children of Abraham, because Jesus is the the “light to the nations” that Abraham’s family was challenged to become.
A crowd that can be won with celebrity is a fickle thing. They wanted to grant celebrity status, even god status, to Paul and Barnabas. The pair only wanted to help them see Jesus, so they declined. But when less scrupulous religious types showed up, they granted them the same thing. Only this time, the new preachers were more receptive. They took the celebrity and turned it on Paul and Barnabas in the darkest of ways. Luckily, God wasn't finished with them yet. They were preserved to preach another day.
After Paul preaches, he is immediately rejected. It says, “by the Jews,” but that shouldn’t be understood as the entire Jewish nation as a whole. There were definitely Jewish converts, but the Jewish power players who tended to speak for the people had set themselves against the apostles. In that scenario, Paul didn’t fight with them or argue. He simple moved on. How many times have we chosen to fight against others when we should have spent the time looking for where God might be moving somewhere else?
Paul stands up to preach, and what he says sounds really familiar. Certainly, his lifetime of Jewish scholarship came into play, he was quoting the Jewish history that he had built his identity on. But that isn’t what makes it poignant. This short jaunt through history leading up to Jesus is a much more brief version of the sermon Stephen had preached when he was stoned. And who was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death? None other than Paul. We don’t know if Paul got the significance of his carrying on Stephen’s words, but we certainly can appreciate it.
We don’t know what was going on in Paul’s mind when he declared blindness to come upon this false prophet. Consider the man doing it, though. Paul himself had been struck blind by Jesus himself. For Paul, this became an awakening. He didn’t just go blind and regain his sight to carry on the way he always had. Paul regained his sight so that he could learn to see God’s way. Perhaps Paul acted in anger, but perhaps he also saw something in this man that made him think that Elymas the Sorcerer could find a path to right seeing the same as he had taken himself.
It was really a wild time to be a Christian, here as the Church was being launched. Peter was an important part of that plan so God preserved his life until the time came for his martyrdom. This little scene is kind of funny: the servant girl who sees him gets so excited that she forgets to let him in. Truly, God welcomes all personalities in this crazy Kingdom he’s building.
Once again, God is building his church. This time, it's a combination of both persecution and connecting leaders. Since we're going to read a lot more about Saul/Paul and Barnabas, let's key on those who were spreading the good news after having fled in the wake of Stephen's stoning. Surely, that was a horrible event. Stephen was a leader in the church, and many probably thought his death would be a major blow to the spread of the gospel. But God wasn't done, and his work isn't dependent on just one person. What God has in mind to do, he will provide the resources to accomplish.
The way God brings the Church together isn't always the same. The reasons for that are known only to God, but this is a pretty good example of that. For Peter and Cornelius, he came through visions and dreams. He didn't do that for the entire church, because it's a partnership that God has made with man. In this case, he let Peter take the stage. Of course, the Spirit is in all of it, but it's very humbling to think that God allows us to play important roles in his plan.
The work of the Spirit is playing out among the people: the dream given to Peter and the vision given to Cornelius are coordinated works to expand the Kingdom. That is exactly what happens, as Peter recognizes. No longer are the Jewish believers excluding those outside the Jewish faith, because the Spirit can move in all. Good news for those of us who weren’t born Jewish!
God truly builds his own Church. Peter never saw this coming: the inclusion of non-Jews, which is what his dream meant. Following devout diet laws was as strict in Jewish practice as circumcision, and both of those things indicated who was “in” with the religious crowd. Jesus came to open a new gateway: now everyone was included, and he was the key.
It’s really interesting to see how Peter has grown as a disciple. He’s come from being the one who swears to die with Jesus, to the one who denies knowing him, to the one preaching at Pentecost, and now he is raising people from the dead. It seems like he’s been inconsistent, maybe even undependable. But there’s another word for what he’s been: human. Where he is now and what he is able to do is only possible because of the way God has formed him in the hard times.
This is a big moment in the history of the Church. God has made a man who was the enemy of the Church into its greatest evangelist. What Paul got out of the deal was blindness, but he had already been blind. When the scales fell from his eyes, he got more than his physical sight back. He certainly must have seen the world in a new light.
The fact that God entrusted the progress of his Kingdom to the hands of people is mind-boggling. The Bible is full of people who fail royally, disgrace God's name, turn their back on him, and doubt his goodness. And yet, God continues with plan "a." On All Saints Day, we celebrate the many who have come before us, an unbroken line from Jesus (and really, before) until now. That includes the Ethiopian eunuch in the reading from Acts!
Poor Simon. He almost had it. He heard the message, and he wanted to be part of what was going on. The problem was, his idea of the Kingdom of God was transactional. He saw himself as some sort of superstar magician among these new, Jesus-style superstar magicians. But the Kingdom isn’t transactional. We can’t go through a series of actions to get the things we need to be successful. The road to the top is upside down, and instead of a transaction, God asks for transformation.
It’s really mind-boggling to watch the way God works things out. The scene with Stephen is obvious: he stands up for Jesus, preaching a sermon for the ages. He uses Jewish history to appeal to Jewish leaders, and indeed it was an appeal. But among those leaders is a young man named Saul, mentioned as an afterthought at the end. Stephen’s passing of the Spirit will come powerfully in another few verses, but you have to wonder how the young Saul might have processed his message as he held the coats of Stephen’s murderers and then set out to end the work of the Church.
It took real guts to stand up in front of the Jewish high council and quote Jewish history. Of course they already knew it, but they didn’t know it in light of Jesus. This was Stephen’s mission: to help them understand how their prior knowledge of God fit into the new work he was doing with Jesus. Plus, the accusation from the lying witness was that Jesus came to change the customs given by Moses. Indeed that was true, but not without context. Hopefully, some present in that room understood how the picture fit together.
Today we remember Jude and Simon, two of the more obscure Apostles. Both of them shared names with other Apostles (Judas Isacariot and Simon Peter, respectively) and very little is known of them otherwise. One thing we do get from Jude, here at the end of John’s account: his clarification of why Jesus wasn’t appearing to the whole world. It’s a legitimate question, and an important one. God’s plan, which included Jesus, wasn’t meant to be unfolded all at once. Of course, it’s hard for us to think like God. Jude demonstrates that in this passage, which should be a comfort to us when we don’t fully understand what God is doing.
I can’t imagine anyone would have signed on for spreading the Gospel if they had known in advance how it would actually be shared. “So, you’ll be arrested, but then let out… and then you’ll go back, and then you’ll be whipped. And you’ll still keep talking about Jesus in the meantime.” This almost chaotic playing out of events really shows that the Spirit was moving the early church in ways that must have truly been a wild ride.
The beginning of something is one of its most critical places. Get the beginning wrong, and the rest will never be what it could have been. Such was the case with the early church. The believers came together to take care of one another, but there was one couple who only wanted to look like they were generous. They didn’t actually want to BE generous. That is why God dealt with them in the way that he did, I think: not because he wanted to scare everyone into following Christ correctly, but because it was important for the early church to understand that what they did still resonated in the heavenly places.
Peter and John are brought from jail to stand trial, but the religious leaders fear pressing the matter for fear of the people. That’s a special kind of defense: Peter and John continue to be bold, but the Holy Spirit has moved so powerfully among the people that things have gotten beyond the control of the powers. This same power is the same among us today, which should be a great encouragement to us when we feel alone and powerless.
The Kingdom of God is not grown by holding campaign rallies or fancy recruiting events. It comes it much more subtle, humble and gentle ways. Peter and John were looking to extend it to one down-and-out beggar, but the Kingdom broke through in a way they didn’t see coming. Even when they were arrested and jailed, the Spirit is alive and moving to advance the Kingdom. That should be a great comfort to us: the growth of God’s Kingdom is primarily his work, but occasionally we show up just in time to carry a few things through the door.
To remember Peter’s sermon at Pentecost on the day that we remember the half-brother of Jesus is totally appropriate. There is no indication that James believed his brother to be the Savior until after Jesus ascended. (Would YOU believe your sibling was divine?) Yet in his book, we have him not only standing firm on that belief, but calling himself a slave of that same Jesus.
The day of Pentecost is a pivotal event in the history of Christianity. Jesus as a visible person had departed… what came next? How would they know what to do? But God was not going to leave his people out to dry. He came through in a major way. The outpouring of the Spirit meant God’s presence with his people, from that point forward.
The growth of Jesus’ Kingdom was about Jesus, and wasn’t based on the sparkling personalities of his followers. All of them pointed to him. Because of that, replacing Judas was the first ordination of many over thousands of years. The power of the Spirit and the working of God are equally present in our ministry today, just as it was for the original apostles. That includes Matthias, who was chosen by a game of chance!
Jesus’ lordship is a pillar of our faith. If he were not lord of all, we shouldn’t worship him as we do. He is, and his followers are heirs to a Kingdom. As we start the book of Acts, we will see that Kingdom expand, and see the ways in which it broke out in the first century. How exciting!
As this letter of John shows us, Christian ministry isn’t always outwardly focused. Certainly, Christians are to be examples of love to the world around them, but that must include other Christians. Not like Diotrephes, who “loves to be the leader,” and puts his own ambition ahead of the church. This is the very opposite of the humble way of our Savior.
These four little verses from Luke say a tremendous amount about the climate of the world of the apostles. Certainly, Jesus made a big splash. There were probably many people who were writing about Jesus who had never even seen him, a lot like Jesse James from the Wild West. Luke is in a different tradition. Luke’s Gospel was written to help people come to belief, not just circulate a fantasy story about a folk hero.
Once again we’re talking spiritual things. Not only are we secure in Christ, but John says if we have Christ, we have life. But didn’t we already? Weren’t we breathing and walking around and holding down jobs? Certainly, but that isn’t the life God has given us. That life is eternal, starting now, and leads us to obedience. If we are obedient and follow the way Christ set forth, that life will be come full and meaningful.
To say that God is love really isn’t enough. God is love embodied, and the love that he shares should be shared by those who live as Jesus did. John makes a good point: how can we love God who we can’t see, if we don’t love the neighbor we can see? It’s easy to love an idea, because ideas aren’t generally hard to live with. Sometimes God is just an idea, we make him safer than he really is. The intricacies of loving people in their messy complications are a great primer for loving an infinite God.
Life in the Spirit REALLY is life in the Spirit. Perhaps sometimes we really don't believe that fully, because it is rather odd. Not only is there a different Spirit living in us, but it drives us to be different. Not because we have been made into some fantastic creature, but because the author of life lives and moves with us. To be in contact with that Spirit is truly to be transformed.
As Christians, we should be excited about the idea of seeing Jesus. We should also realize that the people with whom we are in community, the people with whom we will spend eternity, will see him too. Do you you want to spend eternity with someone you despise? That may be a bit of an overstatement, but it’s a command of Jesus to love one another, and love as Jesus loved. That sometimes includes some pretty inconvenient people.
Eternal life isn’t only something that begins when we die, it begins when we start following Jesus. Eternal-style life is not just for spiritual giants, it’s extended to both the mature and the young, who share the Spirit equally.
It’s really amazing, the way the Spirit passes among the church and gives the body of Christ its life. In this book, John (the same one who wrote the Gospel) opens by observing that passing. The purpose of those who follow Jesus is to walk in such away that when others follow, they are following Jesus and not us. This walking together gives us belonging in a community formed in our Savior.
The book of Jude is thought by some scholars to have been written by a brother of Jesus. Regardless of its author, there is some good instruction here for dealing with false teachers. It's also a caution against letting pagan culture become part of the life of a Christian. Followers of Jesus should be different, and that difference should be obvious.
All this talk of destroying the earth by fire certainly does make it seem like God is out to get us. Why else would this happen? But destruction isn’t God’s final plan. The new Heaven and New Earth are. Creation is still God’s, and was made to worship and serve God. When sin and death are burned away, this new experience will become what God always intended our world to be.
In this passage from 2 Peter, we have a pretty clear picture of what a false prophet looks like. Smooth words and persuasive language are not the only thing that those who claim to speak in God’s name need to deliver. An interior life formed in the Spirit should follow with words of the Spirit, not selfish ambition. God takes this very seriously, because the body of Christ is the recipient of God’s own work.
There’s a neat little formula of spiritual life in this passage from 2 Peter. Faith > moral excellence > knowledge > self-control > endurance > godliness > brotherly affection > love. This isn’t the only way, of course. And some of us will struggle with some of those. It’s also not our ticket to Heaven. God gives us our citizenship in the Kingdom of Jesus as a gift of grace. What it is, is the way we learn to LIVE as citizens of that Kingdom. Since that isn’t our nature, the Spirit brings it about. It proves to ourselves and to others what Kingdom citizenship looks like.
Is this kind of leadership seen anywhere else in the church? Those called to be leaders are not called to be kings, but to be humble servants of those around them. This is good news for the younger members of the church, because the bond of love that is given by the Spirit is what drives those in authority. Only Jesus could have brought something like this about.
As Peter closes out the book, he again emphasizes the importance of holy living. Of course, this is not what punches our ticket to Heaven, but it is critical to be a follower of Christ. We are given gifts to serve God and one another, and we should also submit to both one another and Christ. Peter has covered this ground before, the bizarre Kingdom of Heaven that honors those who honor others above themselves. The end result is a life that gets attention, and life life of Christ can be fully known by others.
The submission that Peter asked us to learn in the previous passage now becomes more important, because it trains us for the suffering we must endure. This is what Christ did, and we are his followers. John Stott once said, ““If we Christians compromised less, we would undoubtedly suffer more.” This is certainly food for thought, but it’s also consistent with the pattern of Jesus. To be uncompromising, we will encounter resistance. This isn’t refusing to listen and pushing others away because they disagree. In this Kingdom, we are gentle, kind, and loving. That type of combination takes a lifetime to learn.
To follow Christ is to learn humility and submission. This isn’t just for one group of people over another. Peter’s point is that we should all learn it in the places where we are: slaves to masters, wives to husbands, husbands to wives, and all of us to the government authorities. This isn’t some hierarchy that Peter lays out so we can see who should be the boss of someone else. The point is those who are learning submission, not requiring special circumstances or some high holy ritual. It can be practiced right where we are.
There is no denying the identity of Christ, and Peter here calls him the “cornerstone.” He also calls believers living stones, and those stones depend on the cornerstone for their support. Such should be true of our lives if we are following Christ. It’s not an easy way, or everyone would do it.
Today we start 1 Peter, a short book written by one of the best-known of the apostles. He’s talking about persecution and enduring, but also being bought by the blood of Christ. Peter should know this better than anyone. He certainly suffered persecution, and even denied knowing Jesus during his life. He’s also the one who stood up to preach at Pentecost and the author of this letter to churches in Asia. It’s not the mistakes along the way that define us, thank goodness. It’s how we finish the race.
A note about the Old Testament reading: Kings and Chronicles tell many of the same stories, they were just written at different times in Hebrew history. If you think this sounds familiar today, you probably remember it from our Chronicles readings. But on to James! Actually aware from James, since today is the end of the book. This has been a lot of holiness living, which is important to the Christian walk. James comes back around, in the end, to humility: warnings against relying on riches, encouragement for patience, and enduring in prayer. All of these bring us to a posture of servanthood, the same posture that Christ modeled.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” seems kind of goofy. Almost like we’re doing all the work, because we have to coax God over. That’s not how it works. The Spirit of God lives in us, so he is always there. Our job is to apply ourselves to the work of recognizing him, and that awareness creates a unique fellowship. Not only with God, but with one another.
(Short reading today!) Some things in the Bible can be found in common sense, and “watch your mouth” seems like one of them. Moments like this remind us that being a follower of Jesus isn’t wrapped up in complicated theology, it’s human. There are things that make us better people, as Jesus chose to become a person. Speaking kindness to one another is certainly one of those.
What we do doesn’t earn God’s love, but it does show our love for him. Just as the Spirit produces fruit such as love, peace, patience, and kindness, our lives should be defined by the love of God and the moving of that Spirit. That Spirit is life, and the life of God should be shared.
“You will be judged by the law that sets you free.” …what now? How does that work? It’s because, if we are following Jesus, we must put ourselves into the flow of his life. His way is to make life abundant, and also less worrisome. By chasing after the things that want to take his place, we also set ourselves against him. His love is a mighty river, a flow that washes over us in the Spirit. Being in a mighty river works as long as you’re following it. Once you decide to fight a flow like that, you’re going to set yourself against a force that you can never defeat. That’s the law, and we can ride that flow to freedom. The same flow could drown us.
Today we start the book of James, written by a fascinating author. It is thought that he was the brother of Jesus, and likely that he didn't believe in Jesus as Messiah until after the resurrection. (Remember that time Jesus' family showed up to haul him off because they thought he was crazy?) He opens the letter talking about wisdom and humility. That's a pretty fitting theme for a man who probably thought he had his crazy brother Jesus figured out, and wouldn't follow him!
At the conclusion of Hebrews, this new covenant comes down to its most important piece: love. This is what binds us to God and one another. It is the story of God, moving in his people through history, moving the Son to be come one of us and our High Priest. It is the undercurrent of God's being.
To complete the transformation from old covenant to new, the Temple must be taken into account. It was the centerpoint of Jewish worship. In this verse, we have just that: the people are not at Mount Sinai, where the law was given to Moses. Our temple is not of earthly buildings at all, but made of living stones. We join with Christ, the High Priest and the sacrifice, and we become the temple of the Holy Spirit.
We are surrounded by generations of believers who join us as citizens of the Kingdom of God. The birthright of that Kingdom is suffering, but our route is different that Esau’s: where he suffered and gave up his identity, our identity is born in suffering and is grounded in Christ. He is the one who has done the work of imparting holiness and citizenship, and the one with whom we stand.
The writer of Hebrews has just put us next to Jesus the High Priest in chapter 10, in chapter 11 he puts the legends of the Hebrew Scriptures with us in Christ. By faith, we are one. By faith, these great heroes of Hebrew history showed their belonging to God. So it it with us, and we join their ranks.
It’s really great that the Feast of Matthew lined up with this reading from Hebrews about Jesus’s opening of the Holy Place, because Jesus does an early version of that in this picture of Matthew’s calling. When Matthew becomes a disciple of Christ, he invites people he already knows. Not exactly the front row of your average church service, more like the people who have never darkened the door. But they are invited to come, and Jesus sits to dinner with them in solidarity.
For a sacrifice to satisfy the standard of God, it must come from God. This is why the blood of animals was never a complete sacrifice. God never intended that to be the final word, but he did use that system to form and define his people until the Messiah come. With that plan complete, we are eternally secure in his finished work.
The Temple would have been no place for someone who didn’t like the sight of blood. The whole place must have been covered in it. This seems really gory, but God didn’t put this in place for no reason. It also wasn’t in place to satisfy some blood lust of the Almighty. It was to bring the people to repentance, and their repentance was dire business. Is there any thing more significant than the loss of a life? God didn’t think so, and that’s why Jesus made that very sacrifice.
Today our scriptures come together! What happened to the idea of the Temple under the new covenant, this thing we’ve read so much about in 1 Kings? There is still a temple, and still a High Priest. The Temple is in Christ’s Kingdom, and Christ himself has become both High Priest and sacrifice.
Having established Jesus as the High Priest, the writer of Hebrews now comes back to the very thing that forms God’s people: the covenant. Jews draw their identity from that covenant, formed through Abraham and sealed by Moses. But that one was never meant to be the last word. The first covenant was about the people being faithful, and could never be fully effective. The second covenant was about God’s faithfulness, and that can never be broken.
The history of priests sort of winds back and forth in this passage, but this is the gist: Jesus’s priesthood connects uniquely across Israel’s history. He is in the order of a priest that came before the covenant with Abraham, but he is also of the line of Abraham. While priests typically came from the tribe of Levi, Jesus comes from the tribe of Judah. He is a new line of priest, and the ultimate high priest. He is our perfect high priest, because he became like us. Jesus is integral in Israel’s history, and our present.
Continuing the journey through Israel’s history to show its connection to Jesus, we come to Abraham. Again, Abraham isn’t replaced, but the whole plan is shown to fit together. As God found nothing greater to swear by than himself, he used his own name as the seal. And Jesus as high priest is identified with Melchizedek, who was Abraham’s priest. All these historical markers center around Abraham as a central figure, and all of them show how Christ is connected.
Today’s verse from Hebrews falls on a perfect day to remember the cross. Jesus was a high priest, but he did something no other high priest ever did: he became the sacrifice. He was both the perfect sacrifice, but he was also the only one qualified to be an eternal high priest as both God and man. As the writer of Hebrews continues to connect the Hebrew tradition to the new Kingdom of Christ, this is further fulfillment of that promise.
A LOT of talk about resting today. Don’t we need that? God certainly offers that option, and this section of Hebrews talks about three different options: The first is the seventh day, observed in the Sabbath, where God took a rest from his work and calls us to do the same. The second was the land of promise, a land given to his people to provide them with a rest from wandering in the wilderness, a home to call their own. Then there is the long-term rest: the Kingdom of Heaven. This one breaks into our Sabbaths if we let it, and hopefully other sections of our lives as well. This is our true citizenship, and God’s eternal gift is to dwell in him without worry. (Easier said than done!)
For Jesus to be part of the plan God had enacted through Hebrew history, he needs to fit into that history and its figures. Today, we see how Moses fits. Moses has not been ejected or replaced, he holds his place in Israel’s history. But Moses lived in the house of God, and that house belongs to Christ. In that context, Christ was present, participating in Moses’ prophetic role.
For a book to be written to the Hebrew people, it would have to contain a deep awareness of Hebrew scripture. In chapter 1 and 2, we have already heard the scripture from Samuel, Isaiah, and Deuteronomy applied directly to Jesus. We’re not done yet! The Old Testament isn’t a failed idea, it’s the first part of God’s plan, and the plan is incomplete without it. In Jesus, we see that plan come to life.
Hebrews is a very Jewish book, and will pick up some references to Jewish practice and history along the way. (Sorry, spoiler alert!) The author of Hebrews is unknown, but they definitely have an agenda: helping a Jewish audience understand that Jesus and the new Kingdom do indeed fit into the covenant already established with Israel.
As Paul concludes this letter to the Ephesians, he takes them two very different ways: one of submission, and one of defense against the darkness. It’s interesting that the action he asked them to perform was only in submitting to one another. For the armor of God, he really didn’t ask them to go about, wielding the sword of the Spirit, at all. He said to put on “God’s armor,” which means that the defense is still really up to God. And if the Spirit is our sword, how can we possibly hope to control that? We are armored with God himself.
This passage about wives submitting to their husbands is often argumentative. I believe that we often miss the two halves of what Paul says: the husband / wife relationship, and then the Christ / church relationship. Did Christ ever demand to be treated like a king by anyone? Did he ever fail to love, even in the face of persecution and death? Submission is the wife’s role, but she is not the only one. For a man to love as Christ did, he must also submit. And if we’re following the humble example of Christ, husbands should go first.
In laying out the specifics of what it looks like to be God’s people, Paul brings together an idea that may be familiar: light. Not only does light expose things (which means we should conduct ourselves as citizens of the Kingdom), but it also wakes us in the morning. That same light which exposes also brings people to knowledge of itself. This is the work of the Spirit, raising us from our prior ignorance of God so we can see that he was there all along, even if we weren’t aware.
A supreme God, involved in our lives, come to earth: now something is asked of us. We are to BE that people that Christ showed us how to be. Behavior of a people like that should look different, but it’s not manufactured. It must be grounded in love, and love like that comes only from the Spirit.
If the people of Ephesus were still with Paul having been told that there was one supreme God, that his Son had died and resurrected, and that he called us into his work, this part ought to really drive the point home: the God who came here not only invites you to be included in his work, but he gives you gifts to do that work. This is much more than a God drifting somewhere far away. This God is involved, and concerned with equipping his children to be part of his Kingdom.
To a church that was immersed in a myriad of false gods, Paul’s claim that they could approach God must have been pretty mind-blowing. The stories of the false gods were of petty arguments between deities that used humans as pawns, occasionally stooping to include a human or two. To be included in the life of the Spirit, known by God, would have been quite a pill for those people to swallow.
As Paul continues his line of thought with the Ephesians, he now brings together the body of Christ as a whole. He has established that Christ reigns over all the gods that the Ephesians have known, he has talked of the sacrifice of Christ setting us right with God. Now he goes to the next step: Christ’s sacrifice brings us closer to God, and to each other. There are no insiders and outsiders when the blood of Jesus comes into play. Regardless of Jew or Gentile status, we all belong to him.
If you are going to claim Christ is greater than all the pagan gods, then the most powerful argument is the resurrection. Paul cuts straight to that point. That’s not his only stop, though, because the resurrection was not a cosmic magic trick to show that Jesus could whip all the false gods. It was certainly a showing of his power, but it was also meant to draw men to him. Without both these sides of the resurrection, we have an incomplete picture.
If Ephesus was a place of many gods, Paul didn’t waste his time disputing all of them. Instead, he cuts to the chase: Christ is the supreme, the one under whom all things are brought together. This saves a lot of debate. You can believe in lesser gods if you want, but why waste your time? Paul knew the true ruler of the universe, and wasn’t wasting time with any others.
Ephesus was a church in Asia that was very much Roman, situated in a large city that had lots of competition from pagan religions. Paul gets started by getting ahead of all of that: he establishes God’s plan from the beginning. Certainly Christ’s life and death was not just a cosmic tragedy, the unforeseen death of God’s Son. It had purpose, and in Christ’s becoming man, we become heirs with him. All our royalty is found in him because he humbled himself to become like us.
It was Roman law that an escaped slave be returned to their master, so Paul was definitely doing something exceptional by asking his friend Philemon to bypass that right. Especially because the escaped slave was now a Christian, this was an opportunity for these brothers in Christ to show how followers of Christ truly did follow a different way than that of their contemporaries.
As the letter to the Colossians wraps up, Paul once again makes us mindful of the bond in Christ carried by the early church. The names he mentions include traveling missionaries, local members, and people who had come to them. It’s kind of refreshing. In a time where churches in the same town often have some old feud that prevents them from speaking to one another, we can remember that the we are one in the body of Christ, life can look so much better.
If we are servants of Christ, our allegiance stays with him. This also means that we mirror the attitude and approach of Christ regardless of our circumstances. Paul extends this to both family and slave relationships in this passage (and it is unlikely that he supported slavery, that’s not the point of the verse), a model that the relationship we have with Christ impact all other relationships.
Paul gives the gist of what it is like to enter the process of becoming a disciple: “Know your creator, and be like him.” This is our lifelong challenge, because certainly we will never become completely like him until we reach perfection in the hereafter. But this shouldn’t discourage us, as God wishes us only to put ourselves in his hands and allow the work of the Spirit to be done.
Paul comes back to the language of his Pharisee years to once again explain our union with Christ. (If you think the Old Testament has no connection to the New, Paul would disagree!) Now he talks about the physical bond that the men of Abraham’s line had, a historical legacy of bonding to a promise made to them by their Creator. The Creator still forges a bond, but the flesh that was broken is his own. We are his, and he has proclaimed a very complete victory, ours to share.
Colossians was a church facing spiritual competition. The ancient world was often decorated with a myriad of gods, so the believers in that region may have just stacked Jesus up among them. Paul wants to steer them away from that direction. Jesus isn’t one more idol for your shelf, he’s not that easily contained. He is supreme, and you need not live apart from him any more.
Almost nothing is known of the apostle known as Bartholomew. This is kind of nice, really. We get the drama of Peter and Thomas, James and John. But not Bartholomew. He sort of slides through scripture unnoticed. I think this is actually good news for us. You don’t have to be the boisterous water-walker that Peter was, and you don’t have to have your own session with the crucified Christ like Thomas. You can be quiet and unassuming and still be equally as much an apostle as those who may be more vocal or flashy.
What is the secret of living with everything or nothing? Christ, who supplies all our needs. That’s easy when you have everything, but much more difficult on the other end. Paul already emptied himself of titles and notoriety in the name of Christ, and now he declares that material goods are equally useless when compared to his riches in Christ. How else could he make such a statement? Only when our material goods truly take second place to Christ can we say it ourselves.
Paul’s “press on” section of this passage is often used to emphasize the importance of not giving up as a Christian. Be careful not to lean too far into that idea, though. Paul isn’t in any way encouraging us to pat ourselves on the back. In fact, he’s pushing hard the other way. Everything is “garbage” compared to what Christ has done for us, and that includes Paul’s very impressive list of accolades. He said this specifically, which probably would have been a big deal for a prominent Jew at the time. Paul had literally laid it all aside because he found something more complete.
The ways in which the early church was connected are almost impossible for us to process. Paul, who clearly considers himself a pastor of this church, hasn’t been with them. People are moving back and forth, going and coming, as if they were neighbors. People who have been gone are being sent back, and Paul’s prize pupil is in the process of being sent to them. This is what it looks like when the church is more than one building full of people in one place, it’s a body that stretches throughout the countryside.
To learn to be humble and love one another, there is always no better example than Jesus himself. Paul, of course, realizes this. Even for this church that he addresses that he loves so much, he finds the need to remind them (and early in his letter) that loving one another should be the business of their section of the Kingdom.
If is often thought (and seems clear from verse 13) that Paul is writing Philippians from prison. When he says, “the privilege of suffering,” he knows what he’s talking about. But the suffering isn’t the point. We don’t become Christians because we love pain. Instead, suffering together brings us closer in community and closer to Christ, who also suffered. We shouldn’t seek pain out— it’s going to show up on its own— but we can build one another up and share one another’s burdens. This is the real-life business of the church.
Paul’s next letter is a bit different that Romans. Ephesus is a church he knows well. They’re partners and supporters of his ministry, and his love for them is evident in these opening lines, The warmth that he expresses is like that of beloved family members who understand and love you, and indeed this is just what Ephesus was for Paul.
As Paul closes one of his greatest letters, it’s refreshing to end on a note that feels like a reunion. Paul hadn’t founded the church in Rome and was trying his best to visit, but he did know several people in the area. In the last chapter, he calls them by name. (Even his secretary gets a mention!) This is an important principle. Theology is important, and is orthodoxy. But people are also important, and people are what make the church a body. These are the people who really lived and worked and built this church.
Paul isn’t content simply to give the Roman church an idea of their own identity, happening in their own city. As he starts to close down his letter, he also gives them a sense for how they fit into the bigger picture of the Church. Including them in his travel plans, he also gives them an idea of what other churches are doing for the poor in Jerusalem, no doubt to get them thinking about following suit. It may also be that his requested support is also monetary, but even if it’s just a pat on the back as he travels to Spain, they are part of a growing network of the body of Christ.
Today we remember the death of Mary, which in Christian tradition (John of Damascus) holds that she was taken up bodily, similar to the prophet Elijah. Whether or not that’s the way God did it (and God could certainly do it that way), it’s another reminder that what God did in Jesus, he did in regular people. He didn’t sent a band of angels to walk the earth, he sent a man that was born of a woman. That woman plays a critical role in God’s plan, and today we remember the end of her time on earth.
We’re almost to the end of Romans, and Paul is bringing the pieces together fully. Certainly, he anticipated some questions like, “if being Jewish isn’t enough, what about being Jewish even matters?” Especially the talk of foods and worship days enter the discussion here, because there are differences between Christian and traditional practice in those areas. Enter the presence of grace in the church. Jewish people need not give up the customs they believe bind them to God, and Gentiles need not take on these Hebrew customs. At the same time, Gentiles should not look down on Jewish Christians for keeping those customs. The goal is harmony in the body, following the guidance of the Spirit together.
Paul has laid out what this combined community of Jews and Gentiles looks like, how they live together, and their identity in Christ. Now he gets practical. They also aren’t to desert their local community. They are still subject to leaders and rulers. This was probably a good step to make sure that early Christians didn’t think they had to establish a new place and separate themselves from nonbelievers. The Kingdom doesn’t work like that. It springs up among their current communities, working its way among their friends and neighbors, traveling with the spirit to invite new followers.
Having laid the groundwork for who makes up the members of God's Kingdom, Saul now moves to describing how that community lives together. It starts with Christ, it always does. We are formed in Christ, and the Spirit renews our minds. Only when we're living in the Spirit together will we be part of a community that's authentically different. The Spirit also brings the gifts we share, and the bond of love between us is the love of God.
Paul has laid out that Israel isn’t automatically saved because of their heritage, but the Gentiles now have salvation available without becoming Jews. Now he wants to bring the two together. Using the metaphor of the tree, he shows how the Jews were the original plan, but now the Gentiles are also included. It is one Kingdom, not two. What God started with the nation of Israel is now for all nations.
Paul continues to mourn the state of Israel as being supplanted as the people of God. If the birthright isn’t the key to the Kingdom, what is? It is always Christ. God’s message has been there from the start, woven through the prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures. Now that Jesus came, it all makes sense in light of his life, death, and resurrection.
Paul is obviously working out some of his own struggle with the Jews not automatically being part of the Kingdom inaugurated by Christ. No wonder. The Pharisee life had defined who he was, and meeting Christ left him in a real identity crisis. He’s working that out here, really trying to keep the good news out front: no, you’re not automatically in because you’re Abraham’s child. But you can still be in the Kingdom through Christ, he’s calling all his people out. There’s also a tinge of mourning in this letter, too, because certainly he had friends whom he knows will never follow the way of Christ.
The connection we have with Christ is unbreakable, because it was made by Christ himself. But what is it for? Certainly we have eternal security, but that isn’t meant to be some secret, personal possession that we keep to ourselves. It is a shared bond among the entire body of Christ, and draws new additions by the power of the Spirit.
Eternal life isn’t just a bonus we get when we die. It’s part of the life we live now. The Spirit that raised Jesus is that very spirit of life, and the spirit’s purposes should be played out as we join with God to bring glimpses of the Kingdom now. The passage from 1 Samuel today is a great example of that otherness. Sometimes, it’s so easy for us to choose what comes naturally to our own thinking. But we are not slaves to our own set of choices. The spirit lives within us, and we can show a degree of holiness that is only found when it’s gifted from God.
Why was The Transfiguration necessary? Certainly it was more than a good show. It was a combining of symbols. Moses represented the law, Elijah represented the prophets. They were cornerstone in Israel’s history. When they leave, it’s just Jesus. Why? Because he is the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. They are not destroyed, but made complete in the life of Christ.
Slaves of God instead of slaves to sin? As Paul continues laying out what the church looks like, he’s made a real progression. Jews and Gentiles equalized by the cross, doing nothing of their own accord, saved only by Christ… but now we are slaves to righteousness? It’s difficult to imagine being drawn to righteousness in the same way we’re drawn to sin, but the good news is that it’s still not our initiative or our own power that gets us there. It’s still the power and initiative of God, and the Spirit lives among us to bring this reality to life in us.
If anything we did were to bring about God’s salvation, it would be incomplete. Only God’s initiative to our sinfulness would fully recover us. This is where Christ did the work we could never do: by God becoming man, being obedient to God, and dying in our place. Paul’s placement of Christ at the center of our salvation leaves no room for any other explanation, and we could have never done enough to save ourselves.
Paul continues his explanation that through Christ, Jew and Gentile are now the same. This time, he goes backwards, beyond Abraham: how was Abraham set right before God if there was no law? It was his faith, and this is once again the place that Christ enables us to be.
Paul seems to be running down his fellow Jews pretty hard, but his point isn’t just to insult the Jews. Instead, he is trying to show his readers that all are now equal under the cross. The Jews and the law are not to be forgotten, because Jesus was also a Jew, and he fulfilled the law. But holding onto the first half of God’s covenant won’t do. Now it’s about Jesus, and all people are included under his kingship. (Side note: forgive the change in the sound. I’m traveling and not in my usual space.)
Paul continues to outline the difference between those in Christ and those outside, and he isn’t giving Israel a free pass. Paul has certainly been down that road himself, since he was among the elite of Jewish leadership, and now he gets pretty blunt: that’s not enough. Obedience to God is the key, not just a birthright connected to Abraham. Being God’s chosen people is a big deal, but the chosen people need to live out their calling.
As we start Romans today, we are getting into a letter written by Paul to a church he had never visited. He talks a lot about that as he opens, as well as his desire to see them at last. Then, never one to mince words, Paul dives into a pretty important topic: the critical need to pursue the things of God instead of our own wisdom. He draws some pretty specific lines as he sets this letter up, but he’s not done yet. He’s laying out a strong foundation in Christ that he hopes brings together a young and fragmented church.
As he closes the letter, Paul isn’t messing around. He has discussed the insults against him, he has even taken on the personal of those insults. He has pleaded, he has reminded them of his connection to Christ. Now he tells them it’s time to clean up their act, cast off the old ways that they knew before they were in Christ. (This also seems like a pretty good indication of the difference between his message and that of his opponents.) But at the end he encourages joy and harmony. No problem, once we start acting like the people we’re supposed to be, right?
Whatever his critics said of Paul, it must have really hurt him. You can almost hear the pleading in his voice as he has come past the, “fine I’ll pretend to be what they say I am” part, now to the, “come one guys. Are you going to make me say it? Can’t you see how much I’ve done for you?” Perhaps the fact that he keeps insisting that he asked for no money means the false apostles asked for a lot, or maybe they tried to convince the Corinthian church to cut Paul out completely. Whatever the case, Paul is trying to win his congregation back, and call them back to the true Christ.
Paul's critics apparently tried to convince the Corinthian church that he was a fool, so he decided to embrace it. Then he turns it: their attacks are nothing but boasting, and he boasts only in Christ. If Christ isn't the message and the foundation, we wind up looking quite foolish indeed.
It’s a narrow road to walk, trying to follow the humble Christ but claim authority as a leader. Paul finds a pretty good standard: leave the focus on Christ. It certainly doesn’t help us out if we’re trying to be the most Holy (Jesus definitely always wins), but if Christ is the message and the way, it should be our default choice. If we’re always pointing the way to Christ, we’re not taking the time to point to ourselves. The others in Paul’s day who were comparing to one another, probably trying to establish who was the greatest, certainly seem to have lost sight of that.
There is a thread that runs throughout the passage from 1 Samuel and 2 Corinthians: obedience. Remember when Saul decided to make his own sacrifices because Samuel was late? Now he’s amending God’s commands on the battlefield. His refusal to be obedient as God’s chosen leader meant that he long longer WAS God’s chosen leader. Somewhat less dramatically, Paul wants the Corinthian church to give to the collection for the church in Jerusalem, but not just because he tells them to. While that would mean they were obedient to him, Paul isn’t trying to train them to be faithful to their all-star apostle. There’s something much bigger at stake: he wants them to be obedient to God, just as Samuel challenged King Saul to be.
The men that Jesus called to walk with him on earth shared a unique opportunity that would never be duplicated. The Kingdom was coming, and they had front-row seats. As we remember James today, the passage from Mark reminds us of his calling. He and his brother recklessly abandoned what they were doing to find a better way. These were also the same apostles who asked to sit at the right and left of Jesus in his Kingdom, Mark 10:35. They had no idea what they were asking. At the time, the fever for Jesus’ celebrity was high, but James would get a position he hadn’t dreamed would be given to him uniquely: in Christian tradition, it is believed that he was he first apostle to be martyred.
Showing “tough love” should not be administered with fury. Paul sums it up pretty well in this sentence: “I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways.” This should be the goal, but there must be love attached to the administration. Certainly not all of us have the discretion of an apostle, so we should always be very careful when we’re calling someone else to account… otherwise, we might be the ones who need correcting next.
This letter from Paul is more than just a reminder of the church's life in Christ, and our life in the body. It's also an answer to challenges to Paul's authority who must have descended upon the Corinthian church. There were hints of this earlier, but now Paul is starting to address it more directly. He also reminds the young church of his love for them, and asks for that love to be returned. Church division is certainly not unique to our times, it was there from the start. As Paul shows us, though, it's important to address those issues. To handle the situation with love is his primary command, though that certainly becomes difficult when we are faced with actual opponents.
We have something in common with Mary: we have been forgiven much. Do our lives show that? Is anyone every going to wrong us in the way we have wrong Christ, but been forgiven? The stance of someone who feels their forgiveness is different from someone who doesn’t feel like they need it. As we remember Mary today, let us adopt her approach instead of Simon the Pharisee’s.
Do we really believe that God holds us safe in his arms? Paul certainly did. We are like fragile jars that hold a great treasure, the light of Christ. It is not ours to keep, but to share. If we are being transformed, we are becoming more and more like Jesus. As that happens, the treasure we hold re-aligns our view of trouble and hardship.
As a Pharisee, Paul was an expert in Jewish law. As he reforms his theology around Christ, he doesn’t throw away the entire Hebrew body of scripture. Instead, he takes what he knows of Old Testament and uses it to frame Christ as the completion of that promise. What Moses had, we now have as believers in Christ. The Spirit that rested on him but faded after a time lives with us continuously. For a Pharisee like Paul, this was like hitting the jackpot.
The sense of community in this second letter to the Corinthians is unmistakable. He starts with something we might expect: your sufferings can help others. Comfort can be passed along. Then he comes back to something far more difficult. In essence, he says, “that guy that hurt us? It’s time to help him heal.” Anyone who has gone through a church split or endured opposing groups within a church knows how difficult this can be. It’s much more our nature to side up with everyone who agrees with us and shoot down our opposition. Of course, this doesn’t build up the body of Christ. This should always be our goal in the church.
While Paul is known as a great teacher and theologian, it’s kind of refreshing to read him take care of practical matters. (I’m paraphrasing here) “Help other churches financially. I hope I can stay a while. Don’t be mean to Timothy. Thank God for these three guys who picked up where you Corinthians left off. It’s great to be encouraged.” The church isn’t just a lot of people with their heads in the clouds. It’s a real group of people who believe in a real Savior, working together in real ways.
Bodies are important in the resurrection. Sometimes it’s easy to think that we have a spirit living in our body is anxious to get out and get away, but that’s not what Paul teaches. While our current bodies can’t live forever, those in Christ will get another one. Judging from what Jesus was able to do after his resurrection, it might actually be a lot of fun!
Resurrection is a promise God has made his people, shown to be true by Jesus being raised from the dead first. All our hope is in Jesus, and resurrection is a big part of that. Paul agrees in this verse, saying that if there is no resurrection, it’s all a big waste of time. Of course, it’s not. Christ was indeed raised from the dead, and we have the same future to look forward to.
God is the God of order, not of chaos. Worship services, according to Paul, should follow this rule. It makes sense, because who among us wouldn’t make extensive plans if they were welcoming a famous celebrity into their house? Perhaps we are too familiar with God’s faithful presence, so we don’t think of it as being particularly special in any given worship service. But indeed it is, and we should welcome God each week with our best effort.
The gift of tongues is considered by Paul to be a true spiritual gift, but not for the benefit of the entire church. For that reason, Paul encourages the church to seek things that can be shared. He’s spent time talking about how the body works together and how love is the bond, so this is the next natural progression: if you are one body, bonded together, make sure you can worship together. Don’t separate yourselves. Then the body stays together, and worship becomes body work.
After talking about being the body of Christ… what holds us together? The greatest gift, love. This one is not like the others, it is given to all. And just as it is given to all, so should it be the thing we most often give between the members of the body.
Being the body of Christ is no small task. We remember his bodily sacrifice every time we partake of the Eucharist, or the Lord’s supper. But the body has more sacrifices. We must sacrifice for one another as well, feeling one another’s hurts with the same urgency that the hands to into action when the toe hurts, or that the arm goes into action to shield the eyes. It’s going to mean taking on a little pain that isn’t originally our own, but it’s the way body life works.
What’s with the head coverings? As Paul has advocated before, this is a measure of unity. In ancient days, women sometimes uncovered their heads to show a higher social status. Unmarried women in some cultures would go without head coverings in order to attract a husband, still others considered women with uncovered heads immodest. You can imagine how distracting this argument must have been for the church. So Paul gets to the heart of it: ladies, wear a head covering. We’re coming together in a spirit of unity to worship, not argue about what statement a woman makes by covering her head. (Information taken from page 2003 of the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, NIV version.)
If you’ve ever been called a people pleaser, you might actually be in good company: Paul’s. His total willingness to go with the flow and do what others do is so that he can bring them into a sense of community, not so that he can avoid conflict. He is very concerned with doing what is necessary to win others to Christ, not maintain even his own sense of identity. Perhaps that is because his identity is totally grounded in Christ, and he needs no other.
This verse is all about life as a pastor, but don’t bypass it just because you aren’t a pastor. The life of a church requires everyone to support and love one another in different ways. The clergy have a right to their pay just as an ox has a right to eat the grain in front of him when he works. Passing love and support to one another shouldn’t stop there: the love that the early church defined them because they were bound together and dedicated to meeting each other’s needs. Start with the pastor, but don’t stop there.
Another answer to a letter we’ll probably never read! This time, the subject matter is a little easier with only one side of the conversation. The pantheon of gods around Corinth must have made it difficult for new believers to know what to do. We don’t believe in those gods… what difference does it make if we have a roast beef sandwich that was roasted on their altar? But Paul isn’t letting them off the hook. Church life is more than figuring out what works just for you. In the community of Christ, we must always look out for one another as well as those whom the Spirit has not yet called, but may be. It’s kind of a fishbowl life, but there’s nothing better than following Jesus.
It’s really easy to hear Paul saying that marriage is bad in this verse, despite the fact that he very specifically says that he’s NOT saying that. Perhaps the most important thing to remember in this little passage, even above the things Paul says, is, “regarding the questions you asked in your letter.” He is giving a response to some very specific questions from this church (in a letter that has been lost to the ages), probably about whether or another Christians should divorce their non-believing spouses because they were having difficulty living together under the terms of this new faith they had found. Certainly, there were great marriages in the Bible. Paul’s own friends, Aquila and Priscilla, are an example. He certainly never told them they needed to split up. He does think that serving the Lord should come first, and he is seeking diligently to help these new believers learn how to avoid being distracted to that end.
“Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated?” We almost can’t believe Paul is saying this. Let someone get away with cheating us? Especially a fellow believer?!?! Most of us wouldn’t dream of it. And yet there it is, a specific instruction from a genuine Apostle, setting church unity above legal fairness. It’s a picture of the church that’s something aspire to, but we certainly don’t want to chew on that hard directive.
Here’s a passage that’s sure to be inconvenient if you think being in the church means nobody should be “judgey”: Paul told the church at Corinth to judge one another. Not those outside the church, but inside. This isn’t a culture of throwing everyone under the bus (we should still let love be our primary motivation), but being part of a community of believers means we should love one another enough to help everyone learn to follow Jesus better. Sometimes that means getting a little tough, but it should always be done with the hope of redemption.
If the Corinthians still haven’t gotten the message, maybe they’ll get this one: being a superstar isn’t fortune and glory, it’s foolishness and a prison. Certainly Paul doesn’t hate his calling, but he certainly has had his share of persecution and will have even more. It’s no glamorous job. For the Corinthians to brag about knowing him isn’t, to Paul’s estimation, a mark of nobility, but it’s to identify themselves with the oppressed. As Christ was, so is Paul. To get very far from that identity is to get too far from Christ.
That Paul returns to talking about celebrity following is notable; it must have been worth coming back to. His message here is to once again repeat that following a preacher isn’t the point, but now he finds a new caveat: you don’t need your celebrities. You have everything already, because you have Christ. It must have certainly been a temptation to Paul to allow accolades to fall on him, but he’s not having it. God does the work, and Paul won’t take credit for that.
Having made an attempt to disentangle the Corinthian church from their preoccupation with all-star preachers, he now comes back to them with a reminder of how God works. He doesn’t need flashy words or flashy people, he takes pleasure in using the forgotten and weak. When he does, it makes very clear that all-stars aren’t making him up. It’s the Spirit, alive and moving, that creates the things of God among his people regardless of their talents.
The church at Corinth is legendary, and these two books will give us some very familiar passages. In the opening, Paul acknowledges that he thanks God for them and for the gifts they have been given, and subtly reminds them that their gifts come from God. It also appears that the members of this church were very familiar with the star evangelists of the day, and often associated themselves with the person whose teaching they followed. Has anything changed for us? Don’t many of us have our signature book writers, preachers, and spiritual celebrities? For Corinth as for us, it’s important to remember always that Christ is the point, not our favorite author.
What happens in a highly successful undertaking? There are always a few who show up and want to capitalize on the success but not take part in the work. Thessalonians appears to have been such a place. As Paul gives guidelines for dealing with idle people in their ranks, he seems to be addressing just such a problem. What is his best advice? “Follow the example we set for you.” That’s pretty hard to argue with. Not only is Paul encouraging everyone to be active in the life of the church, he doesn’t exclude his superstar self from the same requirement.
Today we remember two of the most important people in Church history: Peter and Paul. Theirs wasn’t a perfectly harmonious relationship, as Paul once opposed Peter to his face for a mistake. Here at the end of Peter’s letters, though, we see a harmony between the two, as Peter’s letter affirms Paul’s place as a fellow teacher and apostle of Christ.
In Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians, it's great to see that, since he encouraged them to love one another at the end of the last letter, they appear to have succeeded in doing so. But they also haven't stopped being persecuted. Paul doesn't seem to be too concerned about the persecution stopping, though. What he prays and hopes for them is that they will be able to live a life worthy of their call, even in the midst of suffering.
How do we treat those who aren’t as spiritually mature as we are? A good first step might be to avoid labeling ourselves as “more spiritually mature.” Beyond that, Paul has some pretty good advice: Encourage. Take tender care. Be patient with everyone. Since the Thessalonians are an all-star church, there were probably a few who everyone looked to as superstars. Paul wants to bring them back to the example of Jesus: the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve. That includes serving one another in the church regardless of status.
This passage from 1 Thessalonians is probably one of the most divisive in modern Church history. The idea of Christ bringing his Church to be with him has sparked many books, tons of sermons, and even some movies. Remember, though, that Paul faced religious folks who didn’t even think resurrection was possible. He faced others who thought followers of Jesus were blasphemers. This church receiving this letter faced persecution. In the face of that, it might be possible that assuring them that all that they suffered wasn’t for nothing: Christ was their assurance, and nothing could remove that from them. Even death.
Why do bodies matter so much? In God becoming man and living among us, he took on a body. He still had a body after the resurrection. In this passage to the Thessalonians, even a faithful church that has endured persecution needs to be reminded that bodies matter. Not just our own, but those of others. If we reduce ourselves to only spirit, we are missing the point that bodies are part of God’s redeeming work as well. If we reduce others to ONLY their bodies, then we are failing to love the whole person as God does.
As we remember the birth of John the Baptist six months before Jesus, we also remember the important role John played in the ministry of Jesus. Is there any greater compliment than what Herod said, that Jesus must be “John the Baptist, raised from the dead”? This shows how strong both of their messages were and how similar must have been their challenge.
Both the readings from Judges and the letter to the Thessalonians have common characters: those who go against the flow of their communities to follow God. Gideon cuts down the tools of idol worshipers (which shouldn’t have been there in the first place!) and incurs the wrath of his countrymen, while the Thessalonians are commended by Paul for enduring despite persecution. Certainly, that has been a common theme of the faithful since Jesus started his ministry. John Stott summed it up well in his book Life in Christ: “If we Christians compromised less, we would undoubtedly suffer more.”
Paul’s tone to the Thessalonian church is very different than the Galatian church. Where the Galatian church was struggling to hold their young faith in the face of false teachers, the Thessalonian church were exemplary. So much so that the spoken Gospel was almost unnecessary, as the Thessalonian church's reputation did its own preaching. What a great compliment. There are probably a lot of ministers in the world today who which they had churches like this, it must be a joy to live in a community so devoted to the cause of Christ.
It’s interesting that Paul, one of the pillars of the church, seems determined to help this little church stand even without him. Wouldn’t it be easier to just swing his influence, declare his apostleship, and draw a line that he demanded they not cross? But that’s not what he’s doing. Even with rogue evangelists trying to derail what he has built, he ends this letter by encouraging them to bear each other’s burdens, not worry about being part of some populist movement, and be transformed.
In Paul’s struggle to bring his young church back to Christ, he has one indispensable weapon on his side: the Spirit. Beyond teaching his church that Christ is all they need, he has the Holy Spirit with them at all times to help them discern the correct path. The popular list of the fruits of the Spirit are in this passage, and for good reason: you can tell if a person is filled with the Spirit, because the Spirit's truth will appear in their lives.
If you ever wanted to read what a pastor’s heart should look like, this is it. Not only is Paul grieved that outsiders are trying to lead this young church down the wrong path, he also feels like he’s going through “labor pains” with them all over again. That’s a real love for your people. Many times, we may be tempted to cut people out of our lives who become too complicated. But not Paul. He sticks with them, even with they’re making some pretty stupid decisions.
Paul is making an appeal directly to this young church that Christ is enough. Really, by himself, completely enough. He is pointing out that the covenant is God’s, the promise is God’s, and the mediation is also his. God is the maker and keeper of his own promise, starting with Abraham and fulfilled in Christ. Nothing further is required. If our faith is in Christ, then we are part of the promise.
Being in the body of Christ doesn’t mean always agreeing with one another about everything at all times. This moment from Paul and Peter is a good example. Both men were founders of the church, both equally important. (And as Paul says, God doesn’t play favorites!) But when Peter loses his way a bit, not supporting the Gentiles when the Jewish cohort shows up, Paul isn’t having it. The picture is of Paul doing this in front of others, which might not be the correct path at all times… but we do still need to encourage one another as Kingdom citizens, sometimes even with loving correction.
Today we depart from the Gospels and go over to the letters of Paul. The Galatian church was probably one of the first that Paul founded after meeting Jesus, but it encountered some difficulty after he left. We will see that a group of Jewish evangelists show up to try and convince the new Christians that Jesus isn’t quite who Paul said he was. Paul opens by reminding them where he has been, his connection to the followers of Christ, and the truth of his message.
Do you sometimes feel like Jesus is being playful? This moment with the two apostles on the road to Emmaus certainly seems to be proof of that. To hide his identity and seem to know nothing of himself is certainly not what you would expect from a man who has just conquered death. Yet there he is, letting them tell him all about how hopeless things are before revealing his identity and disappearing. This could be a a good lesson for us: despite the fact that God is with us, it may not always be time for us to see him. In times of uncertainty, we might take comfort in the anticipation of his appearing.
The resurrection is a pretty crazy idea, no wonder the Sadducees didn’t believe in it. But neither did the disciples, really. They certainly didn’t react like it was a possibility. Even after hearing Jesus tell them what would happen, it was a pretty far-fetched idea. But that resurrection is what sets Christianity apart, and it’s part of our great hope. We do no fear death, because we know that to die is to be with our Savior.
It’s impossible to miss the two types of covenant happening in these scriptures today. As the Hebrews come back home to Canaan, God’s promise to give them a home is borne out in the blood of their enemies. Sadly, that was the price of keeping that promise. When Jesus comes, things are different. No more do his people take up the sword and cut down their enemies. Instead, Jesus sacrifices himself.
It’s bizarre how Jesus’s accusers twist and turn their approach. He is arrested as a revolutionary, but before the end of the experience, the people prefer to release an actual revolutionary instead of this man who never hurt anyone. Certainly his words were powerful, and they offended and divided the people. At the end of the day, they would rather see a violent man go free than face the truth of what Jesus said.
While it wasn’t strategic, it seems strangely appropriate that the scripture of Peter’s failure falls on the same day as one of the great encouragers of the early church: Barnabas. We all fail, and we all need encouragers. Perhaps the spirit of the early church, working together and encouraging our brothers and sisters (especially when they fail), could be do us all a little good good in this modern age.
The incarnation meant that God included the entire race of man in his own story. Jesus became human, born of a human, living among humans… and today, betrayed by a human. It would have been out of place for Jesus’ sacrifice to suddenly be brought about because a legion of demons killed him. At every step, even the worst hour, the story of Jesus became God living among us.
There was meaning in Jesus’ death, it wasn’t just an awful tragedy that happened to God’s Son. It was ordained as a part of God’s plan, and Jesus is God. He wasn’t surprised or shocked, he was moving toward the cross out of love. Before we get there, though, the apostles are going to get some pretty hard lessons. They were important enough that Jesus prayed for their preservation, since they were the only plan he made for the future of the Kingdom. The road to the cross was about them too, even if they weren't ready for the lesson.
Not a lot of good news in what Jesus is foretelling today. The destruction of the Temple is the most devastating blow imaginable to the Hebrew people, and the killing of many is just as horrible. But Jesus isn’t speaking in parables now. This really did happen, just a few decades after he foretold it. During this time, there also came several false Messiahs, all of whom also met some pretty horrible ends. It seems that this would be a sign that God had left his people and yet Jesus says, “you can know that the Kingdom of God is near.” While that seems like very little consolation to those going through the horror, God is still on the throne.
Once again, trying to stump Jesus his adversaries dig themselves a hole. (Keep in mind they were trying to show the ridiculousness of the resurrection primarily.) Not only does Jesus answer their question, he adds a little ridiculousness of his own: “Okay, smartie. So how is David’s son his Lord?” He wasn’t trying to beat them with logic. He was trying to take them beyond it. The law can only get us so far, but it’s Jesus that takes us all the way to the Father. It’s also pretty good advice not to debate resurrection with someone who was going to do that very thing. Then again, how could they know?
“Give Caesar what is Caesar’s, give God what is God’s.” This event with the coin is certainly one of note. Not Just because Jesus silenced those who questioned his authority, but because he got to the root of something deeper: while a coin bears Caesar’s image, we bear God’s image. Those who challenged him wanted him to say something that would anger the powers, and Jesus turned their argument on its head: let the powers have each other. The Kingdom is within you.
Much has been made of this scene of Jesus driving merchants out of the temple. From a justification of losing your temper to a denial that Jesus was mad at all, many sermons have guessed at what has happening here. I think one thing is certain: what Jesus was about was Kingdom business, not earthly business. To have earthly business going on at what should have been the center of the Kingdom’s breaking through on earth is totally sideways. Certainly we cannot manufacture holiness on our own, but we can do a better job of staying out of the way of its happening than these temple folk did.
There are no bystanders in Jesus’ Kingdom. His parable makes this pretty clear. There is also an interesting truth in the statement made by the servant who did nothing with his investment: he was afraid of the King. So afraid he did nothing. Is this how we feel about God? Are we too overwhelmed by the idea of him to even find the place we fit in the Kingdom? If that’s how you feel, remember: even the servant who invested a little was rewarded. And lest you think that just means the second servant wasn’t as good as the first, Jesus also defines giving as servanthood. It’s not a question of becoming more, but of becoming less.
I don’t think it’s a mistake that this Zacchaeus story comes so quickly after the story (yesterday) of the rich young man. The rich young man was probably well-respected, known as good, and upstanding in his community. Zacchaeus was the opposite of all of those things. “Notorious sinner” is probably kind language for most of the things he was called. His response is also the opposite of the rich young man’s: he vows to give money back, seemingly unprompted. Did he see Jesus talk to the other guy? There’s no way to know that, but it’s clear that something has been at work in his heart.
It’s easy to miss Jesus drawing a line between the law and his Kingdom in is conversation with the rich young man. The young man is certainly looking to tout his righteousness in the beginning, and Jesus really makes it easy for him to brag about his own goodness. But our goodness is never enough, and it’s not our ticket into the Kingdom. The law is always only enough to shine a light on our failure to achieve holiness. So what do we do? Follow the example of the penitent tax collector who who was ashamed to enter the temple: throw aside our trophies and follow Jesus.
This passage in Luke about people being taken and left is certainly one that has had many interpretations. Often, this visual gets lumped into the “left behind” discussion, the spiriting away of the church as many believe. It’s possible that’s what it means, but the passage sits in the midst of many parables where Jesus uses the image of a person to unveil a deeper truth. I looked to some of the writers of the early church (Cyril of Alexandria and Ambrose) who lean toward the idea that these “taken and left” folks are more than just random people. People in bed may mean people who have a good life and rest easy, perhaps the wealthy. Two women at a grindstone may indicate two people who must labor even for their bread, perhaps the poor. The “field” may mean those outside the Jewish faith.
Rapture or symbolism, we can perhaps agree on this common ground: those who find themselves in the Kingdom are not there because of status or family name. The moving of the Holy Spirit and the gathering of the church by Christ is his own work, and our response is worship and praise.
Today we remember Mary visiting Elizabeth, the leaping of a baby John the Baptist in the womb, and the indelible connection that God made with humanity. In Jesus, God became one of us, and John the Baptist was the one who made the way. John’s leaping in the womb at Mary’s entrance shows the connection God made in that incarnation. It was more than a casual appearance. Everything was about to change.
When Jesus sent the lepers to the priests, he wasn’t just telling them to go to the doctor. A priest had to verify that someone was healed, and this allowed them to re-enter the community. Not only was Jesus giving them their healing, he was making them part of their families and synagogues again. Maybe they were so excited at that prospect, only the Samaritan bothered to come back and give glory where it belonged.
Jesus has a lot to say about the law to those who consider it the most important thing. First he affirms that he did not come to replace it. Then he tells the story of a wealthy man who was unable to use what the law and prophets offered to avoid Hell. Remember the audience: the Pharisees also had the law, and were deeply immersed in it. At the end, when Jesus finishes the story by saying, “Moses and the prophets have warned them, your brothers can read what they wrote,” there must have been an audible gasp. It was an insult. It was also necessary, because in his fulfillment of the law, it did nobody any good to avoid the Kingdom by continuing to attempt keeping the law on their own.
Remember where we left off yesterday? Luke 15 gave use two parables that show how God takes the initiative to bring back the lost. Today we have the story of the lost Son, and in this case the father doesn’t go out to get the boy. The boy starts out where he needs to be, but leaves. Remember who he’s talking to, though: the Pharisees and religious leaders who said Jesus was diminishing himself by being near the riffraff he spent time with. This is is last lesson to that group, he’s going to speak to someone else next. So what does he need to tell them? That they are the son who never left. They stayed at home, serving as they should, but they lost the love they should have had for others.
Jesus’ two stories about those who are lost work together. In one, the seeker is after something that is alive, a sheep that can run away. But in the other, the seeker is after an inanimate coin. This is intriguing. Certainly the sheep could be blamed for what he did, but the coin probably just got lost by circumstance. The important part is this: it is the seeker who matters. In both cases, the point is that God takes the initiative, seeks us, and does the work of finding.
You really must wonder if Jesus got invited to a lot of parties. It seems like he most often uses them as object lessons for the people who were probably most popular. Nonetheless, here he is, once again taking the opportunity to try and teach those around him what a servant’s heart looks like. Not promoting ourselves flies against so much of what seems natural. Yet our Savior, God himself, consistently chose the low seat. Not until he was exalted by the Father would enter his true majesty. In that moment, just as he describes to these party guests, he humbles himself to be exalted by another.
Jesus continually runs up against legalism. The synagogue leader wasn’t a total idiot, he was just doing his job. Probably, he was deeply concerned with reverence for the law. How does Jesus answer that? By reminding everyone of the value of people (“love your neighbor” had been around for a while too) and by showing what the Kingdom was like in illustrations. These parables use the image of very small things that produce something large, and indeed that was what happened with Jesus’ upside down Kingdom. It wasn’t happening from the top, those were the people who most often opposed him. It was a grassroots movement among those who had ears to hear.
There are some current (to Jesus' time) events that come into play for Luke's narrative that we don't know all the details concerning. It does seem that this was a series of events that caused the religious to guess at why the catastrophes befell the victims, with a likely conclusion being sin on the part of those who died. Jesus wishes to pull them away from that discussion, because something more important it breaking out in front of them: him. It's certainly a waste of time to guess who is the most holy when the very instrument of holiness is living among you. Jesus' invitation to the Kingdom didn't require any prerequisites, and his holiness was offered to all takers.
Pentecost! This is a very important day in the life of the church, because the Holy Spirit became part of the life of the whole church. The scripture for day is the spirit of Pentecost (especially what Jesus said would happen) rather than the actual story of the events, which you can read in Acts 1 and 2. But the reality is this: the spiritual life of the church would never be the same after this day, and we continue to live in that Spirit.
For Jesus to help us find the Kingdom, we must find a way to remove ourselves from the thinking that comes naturally by living in the world. We must learn to think like him, to act like him, to follow him. This is why he spends so much time talking about laying aside possessions. It isn’t that having things in itself is a problem, but that surrounding ourselves with too much of that blocks us from seeing the Kingdom. To avoid that, Jesus leads us to lay it all down and find him.
Jesus’ very presence of course means that God is among us. But it means something else too, as he points out to the teachers of religious law: with the law and prophets culminating him him, it is a much bigger deal to reject him than it was to reject Zechariah or Elijah. The nation of Israel had trained themselves well to ignore those predecessors. But all is not lost, and many Israelites followed him. There were even a few religious leaders, like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who understood and played a critical role in the story of Jesus.
A lot about spiritual warfare is happening today, but Jesus doesn’t shy away from it. The center of spiritual warfare is always prayer. (Remember the demon that the disciples couldn’t cast out? Jesus said prayer was the missing key.) And in that vein, Jesus gives the disciples both the model for prayer that we use daily, accompanied by a couple stories. One is about praying diligently, but the other one is about driving out a demon. How do we keep the demon from moving back in? By filling the space with Christ.
When Jesus gives someone a specific challenge to help them better understand his Kingdom, it’s not a universal answer. Previously, he told the rich young ruler to sell all he owns. In this passage, speaking to a man who seems to be from a similar background, he tells him that he needs to learn compassion. Martha needs to learn to listen, and Mary needs to be left alone by her nagging sister! Certainly, we are all on different paths, and the Spirit has something unique to say to each of us.
For hospitality to exist, it must be both offered and received. Nobody can be hospitable if someone else doesn't have a need. Jesus sent this large group of followers out not to become powerful and hand out free lunches, but to enter with nothing and allow themselves to be cared for. What an odd way to introduce yourselves. It's unlikely that many in our modern world would be comfortable with so complete an abandonment of material goods.
It must have been lonely to be Jesus. We don’t really know why he chose to lead his group through Samaria. The region was not particularly friendly to Jewish folks, most would have gone around that region to get to Jerusalem. Whatever his reasons, Jesus walks straight through the heart of the place and is rejected by the Samaritans. You really have to wonder if that influences what he says later in this passage, that foxes have dens, but he has no place to lay his head.
It seems like the disciples are always falling asleep at the wrong times. Now as Jesus meets with the great men from Israel’s past who are the symbols of the law and the prophets, and later when Jesus is praying before his arrest. But when did Jesus sleep? Remember back in chapter 8? During a storm. Jesus is at rest in the midst of trouble, but the disciples are flatly unaware of what is going on around them. (I have wondered if Peter didn’t know what he was saying because he was still waking up.) Hopefully we will follow Jesus, resting when we should be at rest, but fully awake with God is doing something we won’t want to miss.
Jesus’ ministry was all about giving away. In this period, he’s doing everything to help the disciples understand what it is they’re receiving. He sends them out with nothing, so they can understand what it is to start from a position of weakness, both receiving from those they meet and giving back to them of the Kingdom. When they come back, they excitedly tell him what they have done… and immediately flunk the test. “You feed them” is yet another lesson. But Jesus is patient. When the disciples miss the point entirely, he doesn’t send them away and do the work himself. He still includes them. You have to wonder, as they are collecting those baskets of leftover food, if they were thinking, “maybe we should have tried this.”
It’s revealing, the way that Jesus reacts to those he meets. Certainly he wished to bring wholeness to all, but he isn’t impressed by titles and status… or urgency, for that matter. When going to heal the daughter of a synagogue leader, he finds himself coming into contact with a woman who took control of her own healing, taking the initiative to touch him. Most of us, if we can even imagine knowing that we had just accidentally healed someone, would probably have kept going without stopping. Somewhere to be, after all. Not Jesus. He stopped, dead in his tracks, delaying the urgent situation, and looked for her. It must have taken a few minutes, because she realized she, “could not stay hidden.” Once she was found, he did more than heal her: he wanted to give her peace. That’s exactly what he did, and it could never have been the case if he hadn’t taken time for her.
Jesus came to live among us so that we could know how to live like him, but he returned to the right hand of the Father so that he could be Lord. We are not left alone. As Ephesians tells us, he gave us the gift of the Church, guided by the Spirit. It's not just so we have a social club. We are to be changed, made more and more into his image every day.
We hear that a Pharisee has invited Jesus into his home, and we later see that other teachers of religious law are already there. Before we jump on Simon just for being a Pharisee, let’s acknowledge that he's already gone a lot farther than most of his kind seem to. Jesus had been saying some pretty convicting things about these guys, and one of them invited him over for a meal. (The culture is also different… they did a lot better being civil with those who disagreed with them that we do today.) I don’t think Jesus was dismissing Simon completely, reprimanding him in front of his guests to tear him down. Some may disagree, but he seems to be using the instance of Simon’s lack of hospitality as a moment to help him understand Kingdom hospitality. It's based on more than polite social practice, rooted in love. Jesus was certainly focused on helping people understand their place in the Kingdom, and his effort may have gotten this Pharisee a little closer.
The sense of purpose in Jesus’s ministry is starting to fully emerge. He is aligning himself with John, who was already making disciples when Jesus started his ministry. He is hinting at himself as being the person John foretells, which is a rare occurrence of Jesus revealing who he is. (Usually he tells people not to tell anyone.) He is also starting to divide disciples from power-hungry religious politicians. All of these things are headed somewhere, and it’s shaped like a cross.
Hear and obey: that’s the thread that runs through both Moses’ speech and Jesus’ illustration of the house built without a foundation. It is the foundation of our own faith as well. Notice he didn’t say we need to invent anything new or come up with our own version of God’s timeless truth. We need to hear it and do it. The Hebrew word, “shema,” which is seen throughout the Old Testament, actually combines the two ideas together, hear and obey. They are inseparable. We should be ready to hear, and seeking opportunities to obey.
Jesus is laying out a pretty upside down Kingdom. It must have been a great comfort for the mourners and hungry to hear that they were blessed, even when they didn’t have it all together, but love enemies? Give without expecting a return? Surely a lot of people must have thought this Jesus guy had a screw loose. And yet that’s his Kingdom. It can’t be taken by force, because it has only the force of the Spirit working among us. It can’t be overthrown, because God is eternally sovereign. That’s a pretty secure situation for a Kingdom that seems to be based in utter weakness.
It could be that we all need a little more healing in our Sabbath. If the Kingdom is about wholeness, then the Sabbath is the day we ought most to be practicing that. We look at the Pharisees and religious leaders in horror, scarcely being able to imagine why they would have such an awful attitude. Our Sabbaths may have a different kind of wrong. Maybe we don’t look to enforce rules, but perhaps we take a casual approach. Maybe we don’t really consider it a day to be transformed by God. If it’s just a day to check the box for church every week, we may not be so different.
The calling of Matthew and his subsequent lack of reputable friends becomes an occasion for more than the recruiting of a new disciple. In that time Jesus also takes the opportunity to challenge the drinkers of “old wine” that they don’t even want the new wine. What is the new wine, and the new wineskin? It is the coming of the Kingdom. It’s the fulfilling of God’s promise to his people, and the breaking out of that Kingdom with the coming of Jesus. No wonder it bursts the old wineskins.
Coming in contact with Jesus seldom leaves people unchanged. Like Peter, it may be that we don’t immediately think that we have any need for a change, but then he shows his Lordship and we immediately see our smallness. Sometimes, we’re like the leper. The change we need is obvious, and we have become unable to hide it. Whatever the task, Jesus is up to it. The change he brings is always the one we need, and following him brings us ever closer to the Kingdom.
It’s sometimes easy to forget that being spiritual includes recognizing darkness. Jesus certainly did. His Kingdom was focused on bringing wholeness, but that couldn’t be achieved if there were forces working against it. Rebuking both demons and religious leaders, he wasn’t only preaching positivity. The same should be true of us. As we learned yesterday, sometimes we must tell those closest to us the things they really don’t want to hear. As we see today, there will be forces working against us if we follow Jesus.
Being tempted by the devil is certainly a challenge, and Jesus handled it masterfully. There was a second period of temptation in this story, and it must have also been great: the temptation to tell those who know you best what you know they want to hear. In his hometown, probably surrounded by a few people who had become his admirers through the years, Jesus instead decides to upset their comfortable worship service. He had just resisted the temptation from the devil to become great on the world’s terms, after all. He certainly wasn’t going to turn around and do it in the synagogue. But why did those people need to be upset so? Only Jesus knows, but I suspect their definition of him needed some redefining. He got his wish, and they almost tossed him over a cliff for it.
Long lists of names can seem a bit tedious, almost irrelevant. What do all these dead guys have to do with us? Looking through the list, Jesus' family tree is really full of some characters. King David, whom all of Israel revered. Jacob, a scoundrel and a trixter. The incarnation of the Son of God is not made out of nothing as creation was, but out of a line of real people who brought a family line through generations, bringing a real person onto the scene.
Jesus’ entry into ministry defies his universal Lordship in the same way as his birth. Why does he need the crazy man in the desert talking him up? Can’t he announce himself? But of course, that’s not how it works. Jesus didn’t come to be a one-man show, he came to establish a Kingdom. That Kingdom is made of many people, and humanity was in on the deal from the start. John’s important role put a man in the unique role of presenting God incarnate to the world. What God incarnate did after that was to keep showing what Kingdom life was all about.
It’s intriguing, the connection Jesus has to the Passover festival. Eventually this will be the time for his crucifixion, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In this moment, the same festival is an occasion for him to meet with the religious leaders, to converse when them in the midst of this holy day. The turn that happens later couldn’t be more different. They were still God’s people, he still wanted to reach them. Even Paul and the other apostles kept this Jews-first priority after Jesus’s ascension. How different things could have been if this moment of speaking and listening could have been the same in later years when they would set themselves against him.
This is the worst opening act ever for the King of the Universe. Born to common people? Surrounded by shepherds? Nobody even brought a single gift? This is certainly a sign of things to come. The Son of God came not to be served, but to serve. He started at the bottom and never left until he went to be seated at the right hand of the Father.
The life of John the Baptist is anything but boring. His father was unable to speak until his naming, his parents (like Abraham and Sarah) conceived in their old age, and his very naming caused a stir among his community. All this, and the kid hasn’t even learned to talk yet. From his very beginning, John shone the way for things to be different because God said they needed to be, and his sermons would teach no less than the same.
The prayer that Mary prays, traditionally labeled as the Magnificat, it an excellent short-from overview of God’s story with his people. It’s also an interesting pairing with the words of Balaam from Numbers today. God’s faithfulness to his people defines both himself and them, and helps us understand God’s nature event today. He is loyal to his covenant, and goes to any measure necessary to preserve his people. As the nature of God is further unveiled in Jesus, that covenant will get hands and feet, walk beside his people and show people the face of God among them.
Luke, who was a doctor, indicates in his greeting that out generation certainly isn’t the first to question the fantastic stories of the Bible. If you’ve been listening to the podcast this week, we’ve had a talking donkey and a man rising from the dead. Luke certainly lived right at the start of this new Kingdom Jesus had brought, and it’s not wonder than something that big took some effort to wrap your mind around. Remember, though, that this isn’t a science document. While the stories matter, the key is that we learn to believe, to hear God’s voice. Scripture is our training for that exercise.
It’s not small miracle that the early church came together at all. Jesus appeared to people, and those people went to his apostles to tell them that he was alive. Despite the fact that he had told them what was going to happen, they refused to believe the eyewitnesses. It wasn’t just Thomas, but being hard-headed seems to be a pretty common trait among them. Still, Jesus built his church on this ragtag band. Though they seem strange choices at times, they are part of our legacy.
Today is the Feast of Mark on the church calendar, a man certainly worth remembering. His gospel is thought by many to be the first one written, and he was central to the life of Paul. In today’s reading from Acts, we read of Peter going to Mark’s family home as soon as he escaped prison. This is a pretty clear indication that Mark’s family was known to the apostles, and that Peter considered their home to be safe. Mark’s path also had failures. Later in Acts 15, Paul thinks it better to leave Mark behind from a trip because he deserted them on a previous missionary journey. So if you blow it, don’t worry. You might still be remembered fondly in history.
Peter denied, but Judas betrayed. What’s the difference? Between these two, it seems to be redemption. Judas did not get any. He handed Jesus over, separating himself from the Savior. Peter, on the other hand, did not remain separated. Judas sought out Jesus’ enemies and allied himself to them. Peter found himself among strangers and denied that he was a disciple. What could have come of Judas if he had looked for forgiveness we’ll never know, but Peter’s failure should be a comfort to us in our own. Redemption is God’s to give, and we can receive it.
In the scene with the disciples falling asleep, Jesus tells them to stay awake, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. I have often interpreted that as simple meaning that they need to try harder to stay awake. But what if it’s linked to what happens with the high priest’s servant? What if Peter (who isn’t named here, but is probably the one swinging the sword) needed to be fully awake so he would be able to judge well what was going on? He lops off a man’s ear, which is recorded elsewhere as being healed by Jesus. Jesus established that he was not coming into his Kingdom by force, and if he knew what was about to happen, he needed to make that point emphatically. Whatever the case, it’s certainly true that we need to be aware of our own situation and of what is going on around us, and we need to see how living in Christ’s Kingdom should look different.
We should be careful not to define things only by their usefulness or perceived worth. That certainly wasn’t Jesus’s method. He refused to be ruled by urgency, and realigns the apostles’ zeal for selling everything to give money to the poor. (Remember the story of the rich young man? Selling everything all the time isn’t a universal rule for following Jesus.) In the case of the woman with the jar of perfume, it was indeed a waste on the surface. The entire bottle of perfume wasn’t even needed when it was being used normally, and to break the seal and pour it all out was an extravagant offering. Jesus recognized this, and saw that what appeared to be waste was an uncommon expression of worship.
This passage from Mark is a bit heavy. It's easy to get mired up in all the imagery, the desecration and the people fleeing for their lives. (Augustine thought that the nursing mother was symbolism for those who cling to the world instead of keeping their focus on the Kingdom, so there's definitely some possibility for metaphor running throughout.) The thing that we can definitely take away is this: Jesus asks he followers to be focused. In the verse directly preceding, he had said, "the one who endures to the very end will be saved," and he comes back around to that idea today with the idea of keeping watch. Indeed we should. There is a lot to distract us from our Kingdom message, but we have the Spirit to remind us where our true citizenship lies.
Jesus clearly saw that bad things were coming, but he didn't give his disciples a detailed timeline or even specific events. His vagueness in this area should be a lesson to us: while the last things matter, they shouldn't be our entire focus. Jesus taught his disciples what life looks like and that's what he wanted them to teach others. Preaching the Kingdom, living with our fellow citizens and welcoming new citizens was their first order of business, as it should be ours.
God is the god of the living, and not the dead. This is true in the illustration of the offering, the connection to the patriarchs, and in the summary by the man whom Jesus said was not far from the Kingdom of Heaven. Giving money is not big deal if our heart is set in the Kingdom where the living God dwells; we are merely giving the things of the world back to the world. Nothing else compares to his majesty. If Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had died and ceased to be, God would be the God of nobody. They live with him the same as he lives. And if we are already citizens of the Kingdom, we are already living there with God. Being citizens of earth is a prelude to greater things to come, but we practice that way of life in the here and now.
There’s an interesting thread of the prophetic running through today’s readings, both Numbers and Mark. While many of them see the events of the future coming, they aren’t sideshow fortune tellers. A prophet’s job is to see a better future (and sometimes a worse future) and portray it to the people. What God is capable of doing, the prophet sees first. So as Caleb and Joshua see what God is able to do, so could John the Baptist. This kind of authority to speak for God was probably what the religious leaders feared most, and Jesus was certainly capable of doing the same.
What’s going on with this fig tree? Seems kind of weird, Jesus walking up to it when it’s not supposed to be growing figs anyway, cursing it and telling it to never produce fruit again. The next morning the tree is dead from the roots up? Certainly this is an object lesson. There’s a big different between a fig tree’s leaves and its fruit. While it’s possible to eat the leaves, the fruit is really what the hungry look for. Leaves are more for the nourishment of the plant itself. This is symbolism for the passing of an age. In the past, the Jewish people were God’s path for redemption, a people he chose to be set apart. But now they were no longer producing fruit, no longer being the light to the nations as God had hoped. The enterprise is expanding. God is using Jesus to bring life to the law, to be the light to the nations himself.
Jesus certainly has made believers of his followers, they are convinced of his lordship. James and John are so fired up, they’re already trying to plan out the throne room. But they’ve missed the point. Jesus is heading to a throne, but he won’t rise to power by stepping on the backs of others. His ascent is backwards: he will lower himself, suffer humiliation, and die. Only then will be be elevated. In Christian tradition, it’s interesting to note that James was thought to be the first to be martyred, and John was the last. The cup of suffering for James certainly didn’t last as long as John’s, but they did fully take up the mantle of discipleship.
“Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” I don’t think Jesus commenting on how hard it is for the rich to get into Heaven is an indictment of having money, because he also sought to relieve the burdens of the poor. The words he had for the rich young man were just for him. There is something that stands between all of us and the Kingdom. This is why we must remember our own inability to live up to God’s best. It’s only possible to do that through the working of the Spirit, the life of the Son, and the grace of the Father.
Things are really different when kids are around. We change the way we say things, sometimes we don't say things at all. When Jesus plops a child down in the midst of the disciples who are debating over who should be captain of the team, it forces them to rethink their line of thought. "Be like that," he said. But then the kid sticks around. Jesus says, "if you cause one of these little ones to fall into sin" because the child is still close. So if that's true, how does this reframe our view of the passage about cutting off our hands and plucking out our eye? Jesus loved children, and certainly he wouldn't want to terrify them. Did this section have a comical tone? Did Jesus talk about cutting off hands the same way we might comically threaten to eat a child as if we were a monster?
Jesus left us with no greater gift than prayer. Of course it was a part of the lives of Jews and God-fearers before Jesus, but it plays out in so many critical places in his life, we really should consider nothing of higher importance in our life in the Spirit. In this story, a spirit that was possessing a boy was impossible to cast out without prayer. No further details are given between the prayer lives of the disciples and that of Jesus, but we have already seen that Jesus went into prayer and came out walking on the water, seemingly as a natural outgrowth of his prayer life.
The blind man isn’t the only one who needs Jesus to be patient with him so that he can learn to see fully. The Pharisees and the disciples both need the same patience. In the case of the Pharisees, they can’t see the value of the Kingdom through their need for a good healing miracle, or maybe some other kind of trick. The disciples are on board after the miracles, but they can’t accept the suffering that Jesus tells them he must go through. Each in their own way is missing some part of what makes the Kingdom different. Almost all of the disciples come around eventually, and even some of the Pharisees. May we also not miss any part of the Kingdom of Jesus because we are convinced it must look like the picture we have painted than the way it actually does.
Come on, disciples! You guys know this stuff! You have seen him do it before, you should know what he’s going to do! (Isn’t this what you want to say to them?) The feeding of these 4,000 people follows the same pattern as before: people are hungry, disciples think they shouldn’t be running a food service, Jesus asks them to find the food, and he multiplies it. Maybe they thought the first time was a one-shot deal, or maybe they were under the impression that they had more important matters than catering. Either way, Jesus took the time. He met the needs, he saw the people. Hopefully, we’ll catch on to that same need the first time around.
Reading this long passage of law from Leviticus and then hearing Jesus debate the Pharisees might be a bit confusing. It almost seems like Jesus is just debating law, which might also seem to validate the law as the best and only way. First of all, remember that Jesus didn’t come to destroy the law. He came to fulfill it. He came to give life to the law. In this case, though, he isn’t among a friendly audience. The Pharisees are out to use the finer points of the law as a cudgel, looking only to accuse. Ideally, Jesus would have been giving life to the law, but these guys aren’t on that page at all. So Jesus meets them where they are, trying to make them see that the law only convicts everyone. Once they get that right, they might be ready to hear how life comes into the picture.
Spending time with God is extremely important. Jesus is part of the Trinity, and even he needed to find time to get away and be with his Father. We are certainly no exception. In Jesus’ case, he is so focused on that experience that he goes back to have this time even after being prompted into a last-minute healing session. What was the outcome? He walked on the water. Even that didn’t seem to be intended for the disciples to see (“he intended to go past them”), so it wasn’t a parlor trick. When Jesus spent time with his Father, big things happened. We may not be walking on the water, but the importance of that time is still just as high.
Being a prophet is no picnic. Jesus was the greatest prophet, and couldn’t even get respect from the people in his own hometown. John the Baptist was as well, and not even the respect of the king could save him from shameful murder. Reading the Old Testament prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah, you really have to wonder if any of them even had friends. What’s the point of being one? Because the people desperately need to see a different way of life. They need the alternative that God provides, and prophets are the ones who see it first. It’s a rough calling, but it is a high one as well.
There are several times in Jesus' ministry where it seems like he loses focus. This is one of those stories: someone important comes to him, and the situation is urgent. He starts off to help the man and his daughter, but then he encounters someone else, someone who wasn't part of the plan. The woman with the bleeding problem immediately becomes the center of his attention. That's all well and good, but while he talks to her, blesses her, and encourages her, the first man's daughter dies. It seems like that would have been a moment to cringe, to roll your eyes at Jesus and comment on his lack of understanding for what needed to get done. Yet he still heals the little girl. If this teaches us anything, it should be that the thing that seems urgent may not always be the place our attention should be. When it comes to God's timing, he has things in control. Sometimes we need to stop and see what he's doing, allow the interruptions, and learn to trust.
The disciples really had a wild life. First Jesus sleeps through a storm, then he wakes up and rebukes the storm. Then he rebukes them. When they reach land, he is greeted by a demon-possessed man and proceeds to drown and entire herd of pigs. To top if all off, the people who live in the area told them to get out. What a day. It should give us pause if we think following Jesus is always just about one thing, or that it’s not sometimes wild. Jesus was always right in the center of God’s will, but it wasn’t always convenient or tidy.
The act of listening seems like a simple thing, but should not be taken for granted. Jesus features it heavily in the parable of the seeds. Not just listening once, but listening in such a way that something additional happens. The best-case-scenario is someone who listens so deeply that God’s Word takes root in their hearts. The rest are only listening half-heartedly. Hearing but thinking about other things. Hearing but not letting the Word take root. Being present for the Word, but immediately losing it when the message ends. These are great lessons for us, because it makes clear (and Jesus clarified!) what our task is: to hear, and to take the Word to heart.
Christ is risen. He is risen indeed!
Today is the day that proved Jesus wasn’t wasting his time, and that he wasn’t a lunatic. Up to this point, his claims about being the Son of God could have fallen totally flat. He could have been forgotten, laughed off, dismissed as a blip in history. But not in light of the resurrection. This changes everything. Not only was Jesus proven as God, but he was, as 1 Corinthians says, “the first of a great harvest of all who have died.” What he has done, he will do for all of us when he returns. We are delivered, and Christ is king.
It is disturbing to think that all is exposed to God. All of us are pretty much sunk based on that fact. Luckily, Jesus is familiar with our struggle. Taking on flesh, walking our roads and feeling our pains, he is very familiar with the human struggle. Because of that, he is a high priest who sacrificed himself to both cleanse us and lead us. As we remember today that he laid in a tomb on Holy Saturday, remember that his death was real, his sacrifice was complete. But the story isn’t over yet.
Jesus was not caught by surprise in this moment. The chain of events leading to to cross are full of meaning, and God’s plan is coming to fruition. As Jesus came into the world to save it, that salvation is coming true with each smack across his face, with each step toward the cross. It was not a violent overthrow, but a hidden movement into the stronghold of Satan. As many a preacher have said, “It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming.”
This is a critical moment. Jesus is doing more than making the disciples' feet clean, he is preparing them for the days to come. Peter, true to his nature, asks for a full bath. Jesus uses this opportunity to unveil the full symbolism of the moment. They are not unclean, except for Judas. The doubter, the loudmouth, the former tax collector -- all of them -- are equipped and ready. The one thing they are missing? Learning to serve one another, learning to serve the church that is to come.
It's intriguing to notice the difference people find between the Kingdom that Jesus preaches and the teaching to which they are accustomed. Is it that everything taught by the traditional Jewish system must be thrown away, because Jesus came to kick the cart over? Certainly not. Jesus said clearly that he didn't come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. So how does he fulfill that law? By showing what wholeness looked like. The law was given to show how God's people are different. The Kingdom does have established boundaries, but Jesus shows what life looks like within it.
If you need to see the Trinity in action, here's your verse. Jesus the Son is baptized, God the Father speaks and the Holy Spirit descends. It's a holy moment in which we are invited to participate: as Jesus showed us the way to life, so is he present with us when we follow his example.
With the resurrection, Jesus is ending the time where he walks among his disciples to empower them to make new disciples. It's quite an act of faith on his part. These people he has spend only a few years teaching are now entrusted with carrying on the things which they probably barely understand themselves. What makes it possible? They're not doing it on their own, even when they're not sharing the dusty roads with him. He is with them always, and is with us as well.
As we enter Holy Week, our reading plan pushes us ahead a bit. Don't worry though, we'll definitely come back to this part of the story as we get close to Easter. The Son of God becomes man, gives himself away, and is exchanged for the revolutionary Barabbas. At his death, he is crucified between two other revolutionaries. Is it any wonder that this event is such a revolution?
The trading of Jesus for Barabbas is full of meaning. Not only is it the work of a conspiracy against the Son of God, it is the willful placing of a man of violence above a man of peace. It is exchanging the agent of a better Kingdom for the agent of destruction. To declare that the blood of an innocent should be on the crowd and their children became more true than they could have imagined. Indeed it was, and his blood is on us as well. However, that wasn't our doing, it was his. In so doing, by sacrificing his blood for those who called for his murder, the better Kingdom still won over the violent kingdom.
Well, Peter blew it. Just like Jesus said he would. There's not even the sense that he went to the high priest's house out of some sense of duty, he just wanted to see how it would end. He left in shame. We may all think we would have done better under the circumstances, but we know how the story ends. Peter wasn't so sure, and there are certainly times when we aren't either. Perhaps the reading from Psalm 65 today is our best refuge in those times. "All of us must come to you. Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all." Just as God did for his people in Exodus, he will stay among us.
It's almost absurd to imagine the God of the universe stooping to become a fetus, and a baby, and a man. Why do such a thing? Wouldn't it have been easier to split the sky open and make a flaming throne that everyone must bow to? But that's not how God operates. From the formation of Israel into a chosen people to the forming of a baby in the womb of a simple young woman, God has chosen to forego the spectacular to join mankind in the mundane.
The behavior of the disciples at this critical moment is almost infuriating. Falling asleep? Several times? Drawing a sword to defend Jesus, as if that had ever been preached by him? Deserting him after he was arrested? It’s a small wonder the church ever came into existence at all. But we mustn’t be too hard on them. These poor guys were taking in a lot that night, and it probably was past their bedtime. Would you think the Son of God needed your paltry defensive effort to keep him safe? Three people, no less? And yet all of this became part of the execution of God’s plan. Even in the midst of failure and shame, God is still at work. It’s as true today as it was then.
The time of Christ's sacrifice and the sacrifice itself were all the working of God. As Jesus came in the flesh, so was his flesh ordained to be a sacrifice for many. His enemies wanted to kill Jesus, but did not want to do so during the Passover. Despite that, it was the Passover feast that set the stage for Jesus' arrest and crucifixion. From start to finish, tied to covenant and promise, God brought together each detail of man's redemption by His own hand.
Jesus's encounter with the rich young man back in chapter 19 makes a bit more sense in light of this verse. Why was it so hard for the rich young man to enter the Kingdom? Because becoming wealthy, it was likely that his focus was on keeping his wealth. Because Jesus told him to sell all he had and give it to the poor, that seems like a certainty. Now we see why: it's not that being rich makes you naturally wicked, but because it is far less likely that you have given to others in need if you are determined to keep all you can. Jesus describes those on his right, those entering the Kingdom, as holding loosely what they have and serving others. It's not about a magic prayer, a specific denomination, or perfect theology. It's about loving your neighbor.
When we think of the phrase "the fear of God," the parable of the three servants entrusted with silver might be a good place to return. There is a big difference in the reaction of the servants who have someone else's money to hold. The first two make investments. The verse doesn't say what kind, but an investment does usually have the possibility of failing. They were probably taking some level of risk. The third servant, though, takes no risk whatsoever. He is guided only by his fear of the master whose money he holds. This shows a radically different relationship between the master and these three servants. When we trust God, we aren't paralyzed by our fear of failing him. We understand what we have been given, and we work the increase the Kingdom to which we belong, even if it sometimes involves risk.
Jesus envisions a Kingdom that is filled with people who anticipate its coming. When his Kingdom does come, it will not be a dictatorship, or he wouldn't have told the story of the Master who puts his servant in charge of his household. This is because we are training for more than an eternity of floating on clouds, sitting around strumming harps. The Kingdom of Jesus has always been shared. From the first apostle to the last believer before Christ's return, we are training now for a greater Kingdom to come in the future. We will not be mindless drones, because we have already been called sons and daughters.
As the apostles remark on how great the temple is, Jesus immediately pops their bubble. The whole place is coming down, and other people will claim to be the Messiah. That is exactly what happened. In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed the temple. Popular rabbis of the time would proclaim others to be the Messiah. These were foretold to the apostles so that they would be ready, and so that they would not be enticed to leave the way that Jesus taught them for the other options coming down the line. The legacy we have been given by generations before is a testament to the enduring church built by our Savior, built on his solid foundation.
This must have been a really awkward moment to watch. Jesus is tearing into the religious leaders for being blind guides, for keeping people out of the very Kingdom they refuse to enter themselves. What Kingdom is that? His Kingdom. While this would have certainly been rough to watch, it's actually a good pairing with what he said back in Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount. The Kingdom Jesus is preaching isn't only for those who know all the rules and get them right. (Although don't go too far... there will probably still be a few Pharisees in the Kingdom!) It is extended to the downtrodden, the left out, the washed-up. It is extended to all of us, but not on our own terms.
When listening to what Jesus says to the people following the encounter with the Pharisees, remember to take into account the entire section. It starts with Jesus telling the people not to follow the example of the Pharisees, who do not practice what they preach. This is why he follows that mandate with instructions not to call anyone Rabbi, Father, or Teacher. Because we should never use those words? No, because these words were meant as titles of higher social standing, which is exactly what the Pharisees were after. We aren't to seek high titles and high esteem, but we are to humble ourselves and allow God to handle the exalting.
Jesus doesn't dwell a lot on the afterlife, he mostly talks about what life looks like while we're here. This session with the Sadducees is a moment where he decided to talk a bit about life and death. If God weren't the God of the resurrection, how could he remain the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? As Jesus pointed out, God wasn't the god of the dead. For him to be the God of these three (and their descendants), there must be some scenario where they aren't simply gone. One day we will all enjoy a new Heaven and new earth, and resurrection will remake us all. Even Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Be careful if you find yourself in opposition to someone you know to be God's representative. If they do their job well, they probably won't always tell us what we want to hear. At times we will be challenged, at times we may find ourselves on the wrong side of things. Sometimes, the other person may experience the same rebuke. The religious leaders weren't particularly fortunate to be up against someone who was wrong, however. The truth was in front of them, and they were in opposition to it. May we never be so blind.
Jesus riding on a donkey was the opposite experience of most parades of the day. If you have ever seen the statues in public squares celebrating great heroes of the past, they are riding a very different animal. Usually it's an enormous horse, because that's the animal used in war. It was almost comical that Jesus chose to ride a donkey, because there was no glory in that choice of rides. Even in this moment of triumph, Jesus continued to challenge our view of a champion.
The upside-down Kingdom of Jesus baffles even his closest followers. It still does today. It's so difficult for us to separate ourselves from the idea of power that we carry as humans, we consistently miss his idea of leadership. It starts from the bottom, never seeking to lord itself over others. This is nothing like what we try to chase: fortune and glory, power and prestige. Those things are no part of Jesus's leadership principle.
Fast, easy answers are not Jesus' style. He seems far more fond of giving people a challenge that's personal to them, something that gives them the opportunity to be transformed if they accept it. This man who has kept all the law but cannot sell his possessions is no exception. Jesus sees him for who he is, sees what stands in the man's way of drawing closer to God, and challenges him with it, and leaves the man speechless. What would he challenge us with? Would it be something as hard as that?
Jesus has said before that he did not come to destroy the law, but today there is a group of religious leaders who want to use the law to destroy him. They pull out an absolute, and ask Jesus to make an absolute decision. What he does is tell them how their absolute has worked out in life. Certainly, God did not intend for anything but the purity of his standard. Concessions were made. This doesn't change the need for the law, but it does create a way for people to continue living together. If any of us were God, we could live in the absolutes. As it is, we all need a lot of grace.
It's not easy being a Christian. So often, the new nature we have received from Christ grates up against our old nature, rearing its ugly head at the worst times. It's easy to forget that we have been forgiven much, but this is central to our identity in Christ. We are forgiven, and it is the nature of Christ to pass along that forgiveness to others.
When Jesus challenges us to have faith like little children, I think he assigns the other parts of this discourse to us if we do that. Just like the Israelites in the wilderness, he provides for us. Like Peter and the temple tax, he provides the resources. If our faith is like that of a little child, we can put our faith in him to provide the rest. Judgement on those who lead them away. God's relentless pursuit to bring them back. Pairing himself with his childlike followers for those who welcome them. And in the end, those with childlike faith will be ever before the Father.
Why was this moment where Jesus talked to the prophets of old so necessary? This could be a really long writing if we're going to answer all of that question. Here's one piece of that picture: because Moses and Elijah represented to law and the prophets, and Jesus represented the fulfillment of both. When the apostles look up after being knocked to the ground, they see only him. This didn't mean that the law and the prophets disappear when Jesus shows up. It means that his life brings them to fruition. His example shows what they look like in action, not just rules to point to our wrongs or hopeful things to happen in the future. It was all coming true in Jesus.
Poor Peter. He gets things so right, and then turns around to get things so wrong. At one time, he confesses the Messiah. In the next scene, he is reprimanding Jesus for getting so morbid and talking about the cross. These two things probably didn't happen at the same time, but it's a really great snapshot of what it must mean to be an apostle. Like Peter, we certainly must remember the Lordship of the Messiah. That's not the whole story, though. Like Peter, we must remember that the Messiah's Lordship comes in a way we wouldn't probably have suspected: humility and crucifixion. The two cannot be separated.
So much conflict over bread. Jesus has a good point, though. These guys had literally picked up the leftovers of Jesus' bread miracles, so it's reasonable that they should start catching on at some point.
What is the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees? We're fortunate to have the Passover section in today's reading from Exodus, that gives us a little extra insight into the Hebrew view of yeast. It was purposely omitted during this festival, even banished. This commemorated the delivery of the Lord, and there's not cheating in that observance.
Yeast is the stuff of excess. Bread would taste good without it, but it adds that extra puff and enriches the experience. Such was also the case with the Pharisees and Sadducees. They had the law, the law was given by God and was good on its own. In their hands, though, it was puffed and made something more than it had to be. That's why we needed God in the flesh to get us back on course and into the Kingdom.
Jesus seems harsh in his responses to this woman from the region of Tyre and Sidon. Why would he say such things? To come to that conclusion, though, we have to assume that those scathing comments are aimed at her. I don't think they are. I think they're aimed at the knuckleheads who had the gall to criticize her for, "all her begging." Remember that Jesus wasn't just there to perform miracles, his greater mission was (and is) to make disciples. When he says these things, I think he's winding his disciples up in their furor against her. At the end, when he declares her to have great faith, I imagine that was a bit of a moment of sudden silence from his followers. They had been wrong. They had embarrassed themselves, and Jesus allowed their callous hearts to be put on display. Hopefully, that was formative in making them better disciples.
A bit of imagination today. This isn't suggested by the text, it's a pure stretch of imagination. Picture the hillside, filled with people. Thousands of people. Is it really possible that, out of thousands of people who had been walking a great distance to meet Jesus, only one child brought food? It's possible. Or is it the case that, out of those thousands, everyone refused to share until Jesus broke the bread and fish? And what if the total of what people shared equaled the amount that was left over...because Jesus always has enough, but he wants us to take part in what he's doing?
It's a total feat of imagination, but it's fun to think of. Especially when we get to Peter walking on the water. He put out the effort, and Jesus held him up. Then pulled him up. Certainly, Jesus was on the lookout for people to join his Kingdom work. He's already doing that work, and our call is nothing less than being at his side.
Jesus wasn't popular everywhere. His message was often divisive, and he claimed no less. But this instance in his own hometown shows that people are at one moment impressed, and at the next moment demystified because they figure out he's just the carpenter's son. You can almost hear the grind of their voices, trying to tear him back down to a size where the person they see makes sense in the context of the person they already knew. Let this be a lesson to us: the Gospel isn't always popular, but it's needed. Whether or not it's accepted should be left in God's hands.
The parable of the wheat and the weeds is a call to some pretty incredible trust in God. When we see evil, it may become our first reaction to judge it ourselves. While we want to pull out the weeds, Jesus says that doing so can cause harm to the seeds of the Kingdom that are also growing. Final judgement is the Lord's, and that's the way it should be.
The parable of the seeds and the sower is a call for looking within. Are we receptive? Are we planted in good soil? If we look closely, we have probably been all of these seed types at different times. If our faith withered, we are still invited to put ourselves back in the soil and allow ourselves to be grown again. If we flourished and grew, then we ought to start showing some fruit.
Once more, Jesus is asked to prove his authority by doing tricks. Once more, he refuses to be defined by his miracles. Then he goes further: he commends the people of Ninevah and the Queen of Sheba, two stories from the Hebrew scriptures that commend those outside the chosen people of Israel for their faith. This must have stung, but it was appropriate. Ninevah showed repentance, and the queen showed respect. Neither of those things were shown to Jesus by God's chosen insiders, and Jesus wasn't letting them off the hook without knowing it.
Don't go to far with Jesus contradicting the letter of the law with eating and healing. Remember that he said he did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. So what was missing in the law that only he could bring? There have been a lot of answers to that question, but I have one that might not be the common response: life. Life was missing. His life. A life that showed how law, grace, and holiness come together perfectly. The law still matters, the Old Testament has not been kicked out. But there is a way to live that law that includes grace and mercy and all kinds of other things that Jesus was known for. It's more complicated than a simple reading of rules, but it's what our life should look like.
When we're looking for a sign for God to prove himself, we might be wise to remember this passage. Jesus had peformed miracles in the cities and towns around him, but the miracles weren't the point. They were supposed to be signposts pointing to something greater, a Kingdom that was breaking through. To receive such direct proof of its existence and still turn away brought rebuke from Jesus. Often he commended those who believed without seeing, and certainly he had harsh words for those who saw and yet refused to be obedient.
Our connection to our Savior is deep. He asks much, we cannot love other things more than we love him. He wants our allegiance. But what do we get in return? His own status. What is done to his followers is done to him, with no layers in between. Coming close to Jesus is costly, but it's a bond from which we can never be separated.
As we remember Matthias, the man who replaced Judas Iscariot, we also have a passage from Matthew that shows how difficult it must have been to follow Jesus. Pack for a trip? Nope. Pack NOTHING for a trip is more like it. He sent them out not to exercise power, but to be dependent on those to whom they went. This really works well as a preview of the moment at the Last Supper where Jesus again sets the example by washing their feet. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve. They learned that lesson so many times before the Last Supper, and this is one of them.
The spiritual nature of Jesus healing was impossible to miss. Not only did he drive out demons, but he asked questions like, "do you believe I can make you see?" By doing this, he wasn't only healing bodies. He was planting a seed of faith in each person. Perhaps this is why it was necessary for the religious leaders to try and discredit him. Wild faith is impossible to predict, and it doesn't follow a formula. The formula had been theirs to control, and this crazy prophet from Nazareth threatened that power.
It must have been a constant struggle for Jesus to be around the religious leaders of his area. He was always under the microscope, and most of them were so busy criticizing him that they couldn't hear the message of the Kingdom in his words. The calling of Matthew must have really wound them up. Not only did he call a man who would have been despised by his countrymen, he went to Matthew's house to eat. The leaders were livid. There's a good message in that moment for us, though. It speaks to the root of good hospitality. Jesus called Matthew, and Matthew threw a party. The people he invited were exactly the people that Jesus came for: not the healthy, but the sick. This should be a challenge for us: not to become so caught up in our holy friendships that we forget the sick who may be around us. What better to introduce them to the One who can make them whole?
It's easy to cast snap judgement on the people who came in contact with Jesus. How could the apostles be surprised when he calmed the storm? Didn't they know him? It must have been a really wild ride, following Jesus for 3 years. Indeed it was. What he wasn't doing wasn't a magic show, it was a pushing back of the darkness to make way for a new Kingdom. When something that big happens, it doesn't meet universal approval. It's hard to digest. Some people, like those in the region of the Gadarenes, asked him to go away. We're not so obvious these days. We may not directly ask Jesus to leave, but we respond to the difficulty of his call by sliding away, involving ourselves in other things. May we be willing to do the work of putting ourselves in God's hands instead, allowing the Holy Spirit to form us in the midst of difficulties into people more like Jesus.
Jesus came to bring wholeness and healing. No wonder there was so much of it going on when he talked about the Kingdom of God. He was creating that Kingdom among them, and certainly that is a preview of what it will be like. It wasn't limited only to those where were part of Abraham's promise, because Abraham's promise was put in place to bless all nations. In this scene, Jesus shows a little glimpse of that blessing: wholeness for the people of God's promise, and for those of other nations as well.
Probably my favorite part of this ending of the Sermon on the Mount is when Jesus says, basically, "You know how to give good gifts. You think God doesn't?" I remember a preacher I knew growing up who once said, "Think of the best person you know. God is even better." Certainly God is. Amidst all of our imagination of God's power and majesty, he is still greater than all of those. It also remains true that this is the omnipotent creator who wishes to bring good things into our lives.
Today starts the season of Lent, which brings us into Easter in a little over a month. It's worth thinking about the masters we serve as we enter into this season. Jesus calls out money, because that's an obvious rival to God. It's certainly not the only master we choose. As we approach our Savior's sacrifice, let us examine our own lives to see what might lie between us and him, what might be stealing the allegiance we should be giving to God.
Ash Wednesday is about humbling ourselves. Whether you're going to a church today and receiving ashes on your forehead or not, it's a good time to commit to being open before God, allowing him to purify us by the Spirit. As our Savior humbled himself to death on a cross at Easter (and Ash Wednesday starts the season leading up to that remembrance), so we should follow his example and be humble as well.
It's kind of funny that Jesus had to say early on in the Sermon on the Mount (what Matt. 5-7 is generally called) that he didn't come to abolish the law. The opposite seems to be true. Doesn't it almost seem that he is making the law... worse? Every time he says, "you have heard it said... but I say," he is making the law seem so much more impossible to keep. But that's the point. The law is impossible to keep. The law doesn't redeem us, only God can do that. So when Jesus seems to be making things seem hopeless, he is. Because without him, things are indeed hopeless.
It's tempting to see the "God blesses this kind of people" list (called the Beatitudes) as some kind of checklist. We may think, "if I'm more humble or merciful or pure, I'm hitting it." Be careful, because that's what the rich young ruler was trying to say. Certainly, it's a list of good traits (incluiding mourning... how do you make that happen on purpose?), but it's not a checklist. This list is full of people probably get passed over, left behind. Left out. That's not how it works in God's economy. When the last are first and the first are last, nobody is forgotten.
What if Jesus had shown up like Superman, leaping tall buildings and being bulletproof? That wouldn't be much help to us in our daily lives. Our Savior was tempted, hungry, beaten, sad, and killed. He joined us in our humanity to show us what humanity can really be.
We all owe the person we've become to someone. Certainly Jesus was the Word incarnate, sent according to the plan of God... so why was John needed? Wasn't Jesus fine on his own? No. None of us is. Jesus didn't come to be a one-man show, dispensing wisdom and dispelling demons without needing anyone else. He came to share the work he shared with the Father, and he didn't even take for himself an introduction. John was necessary because at every turn, God intended to share what he was doing with humanity.
Under normal circumstances, a newborn baby and his family taking on the King of a country might have a predictable ending. Not so when the ruler sets himself against the will of God. And who does God use? Outsiders. Magi from the east, not even those from Israel. These are the travelers we remembered a few weeks ago when we celebrated Epiphany, and today we remember them again. God is at work in people we would never suspect.
Today's gospel reading is short, but pretty important. Joseph sometimes gets sidelined in the nativity, he seems like kind of a bystander. That certainly wasn't true. This little piece of the story of Jesus' birth is important because it gives Joseph a stake. Remember that whole list of names we read yesterday? Naming matters, and a Biblical man's name was often connected to his father. That God came to Joseph in a dream and told him to give Jesus his name means that God was asking Joseph to connect himself to Jesus, taking part the the generations of fathers who named their sons. God didn't wish to operate outside the human realm, he includes humanity in the story of Jesus at every point.
Reading the list of fathers and sons for dozens of generations isn't exactly what most of us are after when we look for a verse to guide our lives. But don't miss the value in this: Jesus was connected to a real family. Not just a family, but a family full of scoundrels, prostitutes, and cheaters. This is a great relief. Even Jesus had some nuts in his family, and many of their stories are told throughout the Old Testament. The way God chooses to form his people doesn't always make sense, but we can find peace in the fact that God is in all of it.
If I were Peter, this event would probably be the most important moment of my life. Peter was the most bold and outspoken of the apostles, but that moment at Jesus' trial when he denied knowing Jesus must have surely been hanging over his head. Three times he denied. What does Jesus do here? He asks Peter to affirm three times that he loves him. No mention of the failure, just an opportunity for redemption. Peter seizes it. This is the first time John records Peter talking to Peter since the resurrection, and he leaps out of the boat to get to Jesus, even though they're not far from shore. Jesus restores him. When Peter was later in prison and facing execution, I bet it was this moment that played in his mind. His Savior let him come back, but only for Peter's sake. Jesus never stopped believing in him.
The way Jesus deals with Thomas should give us all hope. This man who walked with Jesus, who in John 11:16 called the disciples to go die with Jesus, now refuses to believe the resurrection until he sees Jesus for himself. It's easy for us to look down on him, think of him as being maybe one step above Judas. But that not how Jesus saw him. Thomas asked for proof, and Jesus gave it to him. The end of the chapter gives a pretty solid reason for that: we have this gospel so that we can believe in Jesus. That is what Jesus wanted most for Thomas, and what he wants for us.
It's interesting that the story of Joseph being thrown into a cistern comes together with Jesus's body being laid in a borrowed tomb. It seems that the two of them have more than a little in common. Both were abandoned and betrayed by those closest to them and both now find themselves in a hole in the ground. The literal darkness of both of those places is the low point before they started on their ascents to glory. That's often the hardest thing to remember when we're in our dark places. It's part of the journey, and we shouldn't discount it. We aren't the first to go through a pitch-black darkness before we find the way back into light.
The crucifixion is the center point of the Christian faith, and there's a lot going on in the story today. Not only is Jesus fulfilling scripture and resolving the gap between God and man, but many of the human players are revealing their true selves as well. When the religious leaders decree, "we have no king but Caesar," they actually aren't speaking the truth. Caesar isn't their king, but neither is God. They have rejected both. That only leaves themselves, and that certainly appears to be the one ruling them at the moment.
It's almost unthinkable to imagine preferring anything to Jesus. The crowd, wound up and calling for blood, preferred a violent revolutionary to the man who washed the feet of his own followers. But is it so unthinkable? Don't we have a list of things that we prefer to the humble Savior?
This is one of the most poignant moments of the ministry of Jesus: he is arrested, and his most fervent disciple denies knowing him. The whole enterprise was on the line: Jesus was entrusting the work of the gospel to the hands of those who were failing him. But the story didn't end there. Not to spoil the end of the story, but Jesus isn't through with us just because we fail. Certainly, Peter's failure should give us confidence that we can always come back.
John 17 should be a verse to remember whenever we feel alone. If we are in Christ, we are never on our own. The fellowship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is our constant fellowship, and we are held in that eternal embrace. In times we are afraid, feel abandoned, or think we have been forgotten, we have not. We are eternally known by the eternal embrace of Love.
Today, we remember the presentation of Christ in the temple, follow the law of Moses. This is something every Jewish family did, it was part of their role as members of the community. Even though Jesus would one day become the object of worship, this is a reminder that he was a real part of the human experience, and did not come to destroy the law. He said as much in Matthew 5:17. In this moment, the infant Jesus was joining his family in following the law to the letter.
This is what prayer is: Jesus gives us his name so that we can approach the Father. It's interesting that John records Jesus saying he will now speak plainly, and he starts by telling them exactly how prayer works. Is there anything more important? Jesus gives us the reason why it is. His apostles then, as today, will experience suffering. As they use the name of Christ to approach the Father, so others will use it to accuse and convict them. We have peace in him.
Jesus continues to unfold the mystery of the Trinity to his apostles, even outlining what's going to happen after his death and resurrection. It was probably difficult -- and a little wacky -- to hear. He was going? He was going to send a spirit? That listened to him? And talked to them? Jesus acknowledged this. "You can't bear it now" is probably an understatement. But later, at Pentecost, when the Spirit descends, these words must have been in the front of their minds. The Spirit was there, hearing the Son, connected to the Father, and bringing believers into the divine embrace. This connection is the same as what we have today.
Though it's hard to digest, Jesus gives a clear picture of what judgment really is in this verse from John. Those who belong to him will stay with him, even through eternity. But those who hate him also hate his Father. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all one. There is no picking a favorite part. And even more so, Jesus identifies his followers as himself. If we are in Him, we are taking part in all that He is. If the world hates us, or any part of the Trinity, they bring judgment on themselves.
It's interesting how listening, obeying, and loving are intertwined. Jesus weaves them together in this passage from John 15 like a tapestry. And what happens when we listen to Jesus, obey Jesus, and share the love he gives us? We are him as he is in the Father. It's an eternal partnership in which we are included as long as we abide in Christ.
It must have been a confusing time to be an apostle. Jesus was talking about leaving, and another Spirit coming after him. We have the benefit of centuries of theologians and church leaders who have helped us come to our knowledge of the Trinity, but this ragtag group of former fishermen and others didn't have that. They were getting it first hand, and it would only really make sense after Jesus was gone. But that slowly formed understanding, that Spirit still lives with us today.
Jesus is enough. Even those who walked with him didn't always seem to grasp this. As they asked for more signs and more visions of God, Jesus still had to remind them, "I'm him. I'm God." And he is still the same for us today: not only in his miraculous revelations, but in the simple things.
A person's last words matter. Jesus realizes this is the last time he will have all his disciples gathered together before the crucifixion, so he needs to say something that will stick with them. He chooses this time to encourage them to love one another, and to be known for the love they have within their own group. That same love is what should define the church today.
Jesus seems to be contradicting himself here. He has said many times, such as John 5:30 and 9:29, that he is the judge. Why now does he say he doesn't? This is actually good news for us, because Jesus does not come looking to wield a hammer. He comes looking to show mercy. Still, a person's heart and their actions bring judgment on them, a product of their own doing.
Mary's extravagant offering produces interesting reactions. For her part, she is making an unvarnished, unfiltered offering of love to her savior. But what does Judas do? He does some quick calculations in his head and figures out that they could have really done some good if they sold that "wasted" perfume. He wasn't wrong. But he wasn't right either, because that wasn't what needed to happen at that time, and in that place. Worship isn't a waste of time. If we give Jesus much of ourselves, what we give is never cast away for no reason.
What an awful mistake to set yourself against the Son of God. How could they miss who he was? That's probably a complicated answer, but some of it is in what they said as they discussed Jesus' growing fame: the people would follow him, and then the Romans would destroy their nation. That seems a bit harsh. Would the Romans really do that? Destroy the nation because someone new became popular? Or did the religious leaders, who also had some political power, fear that they'd lose the level of control they had? Probably a bit of both. We can take a lesson from them, though: certainly, we must be careful never to set our own need for control over what God is doing.
In the raising of Lazarus, it's easy to get caught up in the spectacle. Jesus WAS raising a man from the dead, after all. And that's what everyone was focused on. Sometimes, it's the flashy stuff that we get caught up in. But in the midst of this, something bigger is happening: Jesus is showing what God is like. He's inaugurating the Kingdom. That might have been the quiet part, but it was certainly the most important. Maybe that's why Jesus wept: not because Lazarus had died, he knew what he was about to do. But because in the midst of all of this, the people closest to him were missing the important part.
"You don't believe me because you are not my sheep." That hits pretty hard. Those who know Jesus' voice, who are "his sheep," believe him. It seems pretty simple, but it's a bit more complicated when we work it out in the day-to-day. It's hard to stay a sheep. Believing Jesus for what he says he will do, even in the face of great difficulty, often requires faith that we may sometimes doubt we're capable of.
What is it like to hear the Shepherd's voice? It's interesting that Jesus doesn't say, "They will know I'm real because they will understand everything I say," or, "they will be mine because I will convince them." Knowing someone's voice is without regard to what they say, it's a familiarity with what they sound like. How do we do that? By listening often.
In the face of the miraculous, there were still those who insisted on finding fault. Jesus had given a man his life back, but the religious leaders insisted on controlling the situation. Why couldn't they just celebrate with the man? Of course, this miracle was unheard of. Hopefully, we will be willing to have our eyes open to see the things that really matter, and not be caught up over our own biased version of the truth.
Today, we celebrate the Confession of St. Peter in the church calendar. The most fascinating part of this passage in Matthew to me is that Jesus asked his disciples if they knew who he was, and Peter got it right, and Jesus said, "Great. Now don't tell anyone." Even in the life of Christ, things happened in God's time and not according to a human definition of success and progress. Hopefully, we have both the realization of who Jesus is also... and the faith in God's time.
Jesus didn't just appear out of thin air, dispensing good advice and miracles like a spontaneous Middle-Eastern Confucius. There was purpose in his coming. He had always been in fellowship with the Father, and he continued that fellowship throughout his time among us. To see Jesus and hear Jesus was to see and hear the Father.
One of the best-loved stories from Jesus life: his treatment of a woman caught in adultery. It is paired with Abram and Sarai deciding to take the whole, "I will give you many descendants" thing into their own hands, and are those stories so different? In one, religious leaders get egg on their face because they find themselves on the wrong side of religion, using it to humiliate a powerless woman. In Abraham's case, he and Sarai find themselves on the wrong side of God's plan, thinking he needs their help. In both cases, God is doing something that people just can't quite wrap their minds around. Both are learning opportunities, and both become conduits for those who witness the happenings to see that God's ways are truly higher.
Two events of immense significance are taking place in today's scripture. God is making the covenant with Abraham that will culminate in the coming of Jesus, and Jesus is declaring openly and loudly what he offers a Savior. It's not the beginning and end of the story, but it's kind of the beginning and middle. What God started with Abraham, he completed in Jesus.
You sometimes have to wonder who was really on Jesus' side. Followers left when he wouldn't do the right tricks, religious leaders plotted his death, and his own family thought he was nuts. And in the midst of this, he has a ragtag group of fishermen and other rabble who somehow stay with him. Maybe it was their simple understanding that made the difference, or maybe the simple truth is that the closer you get to Jesus, the more miraculous it all seems.
Today, Jesus finishes his explanation of what his sacrifice means, still trying to help those who had eaten the physical bread he provided to understand that he was the Bread of Life. It wasn't easy. Maybe some thought he was being too morbid, or maybe they weren't sticking around if there wasn't a free meal. Either way, many people deserted Jesus. His disciples got it, though. Where else could they go? He had the words of life.
When working with children, it's sometimes difficult to help them understand which thing is more valuable from a few options. Jesus faces the same thing. He has just performed a miracle, and yet the crowd tells him he still needs to do more tricks if he wants them to believe in him. They have missed the point. It wasn't that Jesus could do miracles, it was that the miracles point back to the most important thing: him, himself. Missing that is missing everything. Just like a child who gets a bicycle but would rather play with the box it came in, we often miss what God is doing for our preoccupation with what we wish he would do.
It's amazing what Jesus can multiply from so little. When we show up and give him our small contribution, he can make so much more of it than we ever dreamed of. When Jesus multiplies things, the result is a greater Kingdom and a stronger community who have learned a deeper dependence on his providence.
Think you've been misunderstood? Try being the Son of God, becoming the Son of Man, and walking among men! How do you explain that? Jesus lived with being misunderstood, but he also became an empathetic judge in his becoming a man. Because he became one of us, he knows completely what the life of humans looks like. That should be a great comfort when we hear that he is our judge.
Can you imagine being healed by Jesus, only to be immediately criticized by the very people who should have been celebrating your wholeness? Religious leaders were so wrapped up in the rules that they missed the real miracle in their midst. Hopefully, our spiritual eyes will be more closely attuned.
On this week of Epiphany, we're still reading of outsiders who came to know Jesus. A Samaritan woman would have been one of the last people a Jewish rabbi would have thought to make a disciple, and yet this Samaritan woman becomes one of the first evangelists. And then a politician? Not much is known of this government official, they could have been Gentile or Jewish. Whatever they were, they were not a religious insider, and yet Jesus gives them the same treatment as someone he describes as having "great faith" in Matthew 8: he heals their family member without even being present.
Jesus was often very secretive about his messianic identity, but to this outsider, he was very clear. How odd that he didn't do something like set up a shop in the temple court with a sign that said, "Messiah, ask me anything," but rather chose to be among the people showing the signs of his direct communion with the Father. Such should be our approach. While we certainly aren't claiming to be God, our communion with God should be obvious not by a business card or a bumper sticker, but in the way we treat others. That still includes outsiders.
Today is Epiphany! If you're not Jewish, today is the day you get to celebrate the birth of a Jewish messiah who came to redeem us all. (Jewish folks can celebrate too... but today we remember we're included!) And certainly our Savior came to be the Savior of all, to show what God looks like to all who have eyes to see.
Watching how Jesus and John handle "competition" between their disciples is inspiring. Especially in the case of John, he is willing to actively become the lesser teacher so that Jesus can increase his discipleship. This is pretty incredible. If we loved our brothers and sisters across churches and denominations the same way, the landscape of churches would be very different than it is today.
How do you deal with feelings of rejection? Cain's example is certainly one to avoid. When God called his offering inadequate, he didn't go and learn how to make better offerings. He killed the one who God had accepted. When Jesus comes, we see him once again offering God's blessing, but only on God's terms. To try and approach God any other way, in our own way, is the approach of Cain. Hopefully, we are at least not quite so deadly as he was.
Today, we see God dealing with corruption. The corruption of the Garden of Eden, his first temple; the corruption of the temple in Jerusalem as John captures Jesus driving out commerce in the place of the Holy. Why such a big deal? Why can't Jesus calm down, God just forgive and forget? Because the place of the Holy should be different, it should be set apart. We should not be casual in our approach to the Holy, because it should feel like it demands more of us than our average day-to-day.
Revelation is one of God's greatest gifts. I don't mean the book, although that book is indeed full of revelation. I mean his act of revealing things. In Genesis, he unveils his prize creation, man. Then he gives man the task of ordering creation, being an active part of what God is doing. God is unveiling new things and man is part of it. But when Jesus comes, he is the thing to be unveiled. To John the Baptist, God reveals that the spirit will descend to reveal the Holy One. To the disciples, Jesus reveals himself in small ways, ways those around them could very well have missed. Today, he still reveals himself to us as well.
On the day which marks the beginning of our new year, we also remember where we all begin. In Christ, present with the Father and the Spirit, we find creation and new life. In this first day of the new year, I hope you are able to find yourself re-created by him in even your common daily tasks.
Today we finish a year, the book of Luke, and Song of Songs. It's kind of hard to digest all that at once. To me, the highlight of today's sections is Jesus seeming to enjoy the surprises he's bringing people. As he seems to playfully talk to the Emmaus-bound journeyers, as he appears in the room when they recount their story, he seems to really be bringing his disciples some pretty memorable stuff. It really shows the human side of Jesus: he didn't just come to distribute information. He came to leave memorable stories.
Christ is risen! Being present at that first resurrection morning must have been really confusing. Before we get too angry with Jesus' friends, it's useful to put ourselves in his shoes. If you have never seen anyone rise from the dead, how easy would it be to believe?
Much can be seen about a person's life by their death. As Jesus is led to the cross, it's intriguing the story characters that Luke includes. Certainly, there must have been a crowd. From all the accounts that must have been told of that day, Luke includes that of two women who Jesus expresses pity toward (probably concerning the destruction of Jerusalem to come a few decades later), and the help of Simon of Cyrene to carry his cross. In the midst of his own execution, we see compassion from Jesus and the inclusion of an outsider. Hopefully we will reflect the same attitude in far less dire circumstances.
It's interesting that at his trial, Jesus is content to let the testimony of those conducting the inquest serve as the evidence of his lordship. If ever there was a time to sermonize, this was it. The religious leaders had him where they wanted him, and they used all their influence to sway the Roman leadership to go their way. Surely he could see where this was going. But he didn't argue, nor did he toot his own horn. Today, he does the same thing. Our testimony is what confirms his lordship.
Whatever hardships we suffer, Jesus has suffered with us. Not just the ridicule and physical abuse of today's passage from Luke, by by his presence with us in our daily lives. He is a suffering Savior because he does abandon, us, he remains at our side through every struggle.
The day after Christmas, it's a bit difficult to think about Jesus' betrayal and arrest. We may not have even opened all our Christmas presents yet, but we we are rushing him off to crucifixion. And yet, this is why he came. To live a live that we should model, to show us the way of sacrifice, and to give himself up, a sacrifice for many. But maybe I'm getting too far ahead of myself. In this moment, let us be like the lovers in Song of Songs: aching for our beloved, seeking him where he may be found.
Merry Christmas! Glory to the newborn king! Of course, today is one of the most important days of the year: we remember that God became a man, lived upon the earth, and became the living Word before the eyes of men. May the Word so live in our hearts that it becomes living and vibrant among all those we encounter.
Bodies matter. It's easy to spiritualize ourselves to the point that we focus on the unseen and the intangible, but the tangible is important. Just as Song of Songs brings bodies into the holy canon of Scripture, so Jesus presents his own body as the enduring symbol of God's commitment to his people.
It is difficult to come to terms with God's judgement. But could he be God without it? God cannot live beside corruption and sin, or He wouldn't be holy. If we are defined by those things, the Spirit cannot live within us.
Not everyone who claims to be a believer really is one. This was true of Israel and it's true of the church today. We can be careful to follow our Savior daily, though, and to allow his work to transform our lives. When he does, we won't have to stop and consider how much we should give or if we know we're one of his people.
Where do we take our refuge? Psalms says we should take it in the Lord. In Luke, Jesus is facing a group of religious leaders who take shelter in their power, but Jesus calls to attention their lack of love for God, their willingness to destroy his Son. Certainly, there have been many steps leading up to that point. Years of focus on power have led them to this point. Where are they now? Wishing to control the people they are literally ready to kill the vineyard owner's son. That his no refuge. They have run for cover in a crumbling structure.
How do we prepare the way for Jesus? Hopefully, in the way he wishes us to. While there was fanfare, Jesus took a break to weep. What a parade. After mourning for Israel's lack of obedience, he heads to the temple to remind the people of the holy place that it should be, not the center of commerce it had become. He didn't stop to flex and show off, he rode to his death on the back of a donkey. So how do we prepare the way for Jesus? In obedience and humility, allowing his sacrifice to be enough, embracing his servant's heart.
When Jesus tells a story it's often important to clarify which of the characters we should pay attention to and which ones are just story pieces. In the story of the nobleman who gave his servants money to care for, we should particularly look at the action of the servants more than the nobleman. We should also remember that they weren't working with their own money, it all belonged to the nobleman. Such is the case with us: we are part of a world that is all God's and a church that Jesus founded. Our part is to take what we have been given and increase the boundaries of the Kingdom.
Sometimes it's hard to see beauty, but God puts it in front of us all the time. From a blind man who could literally see nothing to a tax collector who swapped greed for the glorious picture of God's economy, Jesus opened the eyes of many, revealing a better way.
A good balance today in the scripture between sacrifice and the riches God provides. Isaiah paints a word picture of the prosperity God wants to bring his people, while Jesus tells a rich man that he needs to become poor. In both cases, We must remember to put ourselves in God's hands. Trying to do the work of God on our own pitiful energy will never do.
What keeps us from seeing the Kingdom of God? Fixing our eyes on the kingdom of the world. It may not be bad things, it could very well be good things that we love too much. It may even be family. Jesus is clear when he talks about entering the Kingdom. No one who looks back for something they they love more is ready.
What do the people of God look like? They look compassionate and sacrificial, just as Jesus did. But how do we respond to this great gift of God, admission to his amazing kingdom? With gratitude. People who are grateful for what they have act differently than those who think they are entitled. They do not act haughty, they do not hold their status over others. If we are to become the true citizens of Heaven, we should do no less.
The passage about the rich man and Lazarus is often taken as a literal picture of Hell, and maybe it is. I don't think that's the point Jesus was trying to make, though. Where do we want our reward to be? Do we want to scrape together all the goods we can on earth, or do we want to build up treasure in Heaven? Lazarus had no choice; he was without goods and without means. But the rich man, who Jesus does not bother to name, did have a choice. He had options, and he chose to lay up his treasures on earth. Certainly, most of us have the same choice. While we may not live in a golden palace, there's a good chance that we're among the wealthiest in the world.
Isaiah and Luke are more connected that we may initially think today. Isaiah is talking about including outsiders in worship, and then turns to his own to point out how unfit they are as a holy people. Luke gives us the well-known parable of the prodigal son... and the other son. It is in the son who stayed home, who never broke the rules, where we may find a hard lesson for ourselves. Do you see the major difference in the relationship the two have with the father? The younger son goes out rambling, but his thought is to return to his father. The other son, the one who symbolizes the chosen people of God, gets mad because there was not party for him. But what does he say? "You never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends." In the party he wishes he had, he celebrates with his friends and not his father. We must be careful not to do the same. It's easy to get so focused on our own tribe that we forget that our most important connection is with out heavenly Father.
How do we count the cost of something that hasn't happened yet? It's impossible to know what laying everything on the line for Jesus will mean, and it's possible many of us would never commit if we knew what that cost would mean. So what does Jesus ask for, if not seeing the future? He asks for daily faith and obedience. He asks that we consider everything else secondary, so if the most important thing is following him, anything else that falls away is a cost we can pay. To pay that cost, though, we must learn to pay a little every day.
In the story of the banquet, Jesus affirms that God has invited his chosen people first. When they decline to join him, he invites everyone else. What's intriguing about the story is that the objective all along was a full banquet, tables teeming with guests. God desires our company. It is still our choice to come, but others will invited to fill our place if we decline.
I have heard it said that all Jesus' Sabbath miracles were healing miracles, and I think that's true. Watchman Nee, a Christian brother from China, has said this: "Grace means God does something for me. Law means I do something for God." If I bring the grace of the Sabbath into the demonstrations that Jesus made on that day, I start to get a better idea of how Sabbath works best. Certainly, we have a role in the Sabbath. We are made to worship and adore God, and we must remember the holy lives that he has called us to live. We don't get a break from that on the Sabbath. But we must also remember that God is active, he is moving, he is bringing all things together. The place where we have the greatest opportunity to see that is the redemption world of the Sabbath.
It is God's desire to deliver his people. In Isaiah, we see him sending his "suffering servant," and in Luke, the suffering servant himself appears to explain how God agonizes of the unfaithfulness of his people but continues being patient. In Jesus' story, we see that played out in the illustration of a fig tree. In our lives, we must allow ourselves to be formed by him lest we be like the unfruitful tree.
How do we know God is a God of mercy? Because through the prophets he takes great joy in declaring the end of suffering. It is important to be authentic representatives; he does also form his people in ways we sometimes wish he wouldn't. Jesus tells us that if we wish to claim the benefits of being his people, we must also claim the responsibility and the holy (set apart) call of bearing his name. A casual approach is not the correct match for a holy God.
The Kingdom of God is upside down. We can't earn it, it is a gift of God. The least are greatest, and those who want it all must lose everything. This flies in the face of our natural tendency to work and earn, but that's because it's not part of the world we're accustomed to living in.
It has always been God's intention to form a people who serve as a light to those who do not know him. This thread runs throughout the story of God and man from the beginning. At times, he needs to work drastically to protect his people, and those he would rather bless feel his wrath. At other times, he works through those same outsiders to form his own people. His ultimate purpose is still a people formed in obedience to him, and this objective was most obvious in his becoming a man and showing us the way.
It's not always easy to tell who is doing the work of God and who is doing the work of the devil, but Jesus assures us that they don't work together. Does our life match his? Are work working for the purposes he showed us? Or is the fruit of our labors something else?
In Isaiah today, God reminds his people through the prophet that he is going to do something unexpected so that the people will know that it is God doing it, the real God. When we reach Luke, we see Jesus make an example of someone who the Israelites would have despised as the hero of his story. God specializes in the unexpected, because he's always more than we can understand. Our best response is to follow.
There's an old hymn that declares out relationship with God like this: "What a fellowship, what a joy divine." Sometimes we spend so much time trying to figure out what God is doing, what he will do, or what he's done, that we forget the real gift is God's presence. Do you have relationships that just want to get busy doing something when you show up? The best ones, though, are the relationships that are content to be present to one another, because that's the most difficult level to reach.
God never allows himself to be boxed in. In Isaiah, he chooses the pagan king Cyrus to be the instrument of Israel's salvation, even though Cyrus does not know God. In Luke, he refuses to allow his disciples to inflict rage on those who reject them. Truly, our God is leaving himself open to outsiders, and the pain that making oneself vulnerable brings.
God wants to do what only God can do; he doesn't want us to try and substitute lesser things in his place. Jesus also wanted his disciples to learn the way that only he could show, and in today's reading they miss the point a couple times. He still entrusted them with his mission, as is the church still. Certainly we still miss the point, but our creator has not made a plan B, nor does he need to.
Remember what God has done for you, remember the legacy you're a part of as a member of his Kingdom. In today's Psalm, the writer remembers. In Isaiah, the prophet pours out volumes of God's faithfulness through the generation to his people. And in Luke, Jesus is handing over the work of ministry -- a legacy his church continues today -- by sending them out two by two, without ample supplies. In all of these cases, God provides. We must hold tight to what God has given us, remembering it especially in leaner times.
It's interesting how little threads run through the verses. In Psalms 75, speaking of justice, God says that we are to leave judgement with him, not even raising a fist. In Isaiah, God takes the initiative again in sending his servant. But then in Luke, there is a woman in need of healing that takes the initiative! She chases Jesus down just to touch him, and she is healed by him. Certainly, God does not work the same way at all times, never wanting us to do our part, moving us around like puppets. We walk by faith (just as the woman, just as the nation of Israel), and when we follow Jesus somewhere, it is often our action in his power that makes the difference.
Today Jesus gives us a story of several types of seed growth, showing the different ways that the Kingdom impacts the lives of those who hear about it. Hearing these is a good opportunity for us to stop and consider whether we are receiving and growing.
The importance of hospitality shouldn't be understated. In Jesus' time, it was a cultural no-no to treat guests in your house badly, and yet that seems to be how Jesus was treated. Enter the penitent woman who makes an extravagant gesture, then humbles herself completely. Of course, we cannot always wipe our guests' feet with our hair, but we can certainly mirror the humility of the woman with the perfume instead of the carelessness of the host, Simon. To do so is to live in the Kingdom.
There are two interesting approaches to legacy between Isaiah and Luke. In Isaiah, Hezekiah sets the stage for the eventual downfall of his kingdom by bragging about his rich to Babylon. Eventually, Babylon would take all those riches for themselves. In Luke, the disciples of John the Baptist approach Jesus, who both affirms their belief that he is the Messiah and defends John to the critics. If we can manage to get over ourselves, honor what others have done, and remain humble, we have found the heard of God. If we choose to be braggarts, it may be that Babylon will eventually wreck our kingdom.
Today, the Psalmist and King Hezekiah are both crying out fervently to God. In Hezekiah's case, God answers. Years are added to Hezekiah's life not because of this one magic moment in prayer, but because Hezekiah's life had been defined by prayer. Knowing God well is the key to calling on God in your time of need. And then Jesus hears the cry of someone outside his Jewish circles to save someone close to him. Jesus also answers, commending him for his faith. We shouldn't be afraid to cry out to God in our time of need, but we must remember to stay engaged with God in times where life is normal.
Today in Isaiah, King Hezekiah comes through. God says, "Trust me, not the powers," and he does. God delivers his people. In Luke, Jesus is doing a different sort of delivery: he is pronouncing the castoffs, the left-outs and the rejects blessed, but the rich and prosperous as suffering. Surely people thought Jesus was crazy as he said this. And maybe that's the common thread in today's verses: two guys who probably made unpopular decisions (I can just hear Hezekiah's military yell in outrage as he said his strategy was to wear burlap and pray), but who nevertheless found God's blessing. May we be just crazy enough to trust God with our well-being also.
The connection between Sabbath and healing is no coincidence, they are deeply connected. Just as Jesus performed many healing miracles on the Sabbath, so are we still healed by it today. It is still a day to put ourselves in God's hands, allowing ourselves to be reformed and transformed.
It was a big deal for Jesus to claim to forgive sin. This raised the ire of the religious leaders; obviously this was something only God could do. But why wait to show that he was God? Why tell people so often to avoid revealing his divinity, and then choose to reveal it like this? Because Jesus chooses to be defined by making the broken whole again. This wasn't a God who showed up and started barking out orders, incinerating everyone who stood in his path. This was a God who became like us so that we could become closer to him.
When a man with leprosy seeks Jesus to heal him, Jesus does so. And then Jesus tells him to go see the priest and make an offering. Why is that? Because the priest can decree the man ceremonially clean, which will allow him to be a full member of his community again. Jesus wants more for the man than just to make him well, he wants him to be connected. This is no different than the foundation of the church: just as Jesus makes us new again, he makes us new for a purpose, not to live as lone rangers.
As the Psalms show us how to cry out for God's mercy, Jesus shows us what it looks like. Casting demons out of people is about more than spiritual warfare, it's about wholeness for the people. That is what Jesus does when he shows mercy. He may not make us rich or powerful, but he can certainly make use whole.
Be careful if you're only listening to people who tell you how great things are. Jesus was a popular public speaker until he pointed out that God spread his blessings to outsiders as well, and then his countrymen were ready to throw him off a cliff. Literally. If we've learned anything from Isaiah in the past few weeks, it should be this: sometimes the one who preaches gloom and doom is just being negative. But sometimes, like Isaiah, we should place as much value on bad news as good news. God clearly speaks in both cases.
Make no mistake: God wants to be the one to deliver his people, not the alliances they form with other nations. But how does he do it? The genealogy list in today's reading might seem like something we don't particularly take any great spiritual truth from, but consider this one: God really was made man. He didn't step away from man or make himself something else. He had grandmothers and great-great-great-grandfathers, and he was part of the human story. This was God's method of delivery: to join us and lead us to the Kingdom.
Jesus is baptized, and we see the gathering of the Trinity for the first time. Jesus the Son descends into the water, the Father speaks, and the Spirit descends. It is the culmination of God's promise to deliver, coming true in the flesh.
Psalms speaks of a coronation, Isaiah of the coming of righteous rule, and Luke brings the ruler into his first showing as wisdom incarnate. Even in his childhood, this ruler begins to show the kind of king he will be.
Jesus is born in Luke's account to great fanfare. Why all the shouting? Of course, the incarnation of the Son of God is a big deal. But also, something new is happening. With the birth of this child, things are different for the world. As the Psalm tells us today: Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again - my Savior and my God!
For all the cries for redemption, Zechariah decrees today that the Kingdom is breaking through. Through Israel's trials, God looked to create a people to show his redemption to humanity. As the birth of John occurs, the plan of redemption begins to unfold.
This collection of scriptures works very well together, almost answering a question. In Psalms and Isaiah, we are assured that God will defend us, that he will take up a righteous cause. But how, you ask? And then Mary responds by reminding us that he is the defender of the weak as she carries the redeemer in her womb.
As we start a new gospel, we also encounter Isaiah breaking out in praise in the midst of judgement proclamations. This is important because it's hard to do. Hard words have been spoken, and more are coming. In the midst of hard times, it's difficult to remember to praise God. Hopefully we will do better with our words than Zechariah, who lost the ability to speak throughout his wife's pregnancy! If ever there were a time when a man needs to be able to speak, that would be the time!
Christ is risen! Next to other scriptures about God's judgment on the earth and the Psalmist singing songs of praise, today seems a little fragmented. But if it had been God's only intention to judge and destroy, Jesus would have taken a very different path. When we see Jesus, we see God. This gives us a glimpse into the way God really wanted the world to look.
Today we read about Christ's crucifixion from the Gospel of Mark. From the cowardice to Pilate to the rage of the mob, from the involuntary service of Simon to the compassionate request of Joseph of Arimathea: there is a character in this story we can all probably identify with at times. It is very much our story as much as it was theirs.
Fun fact: the inclusion of Simon being the "father of Alexander and Rufus" is thought to be an indication by some scholars that Alexander and Rufus were known to the early church, and may have even been church leaders. Even the minor characters matter.
Today is a picture of what it looks like to be distant from God: Israel in judgement, reminded of who God wanted them to be. Peter, in sorrow, choosing to abandon his Savior. What a fortunate thing that God's ultimate plan is redemption, or none of us could stand.
Israel wants to depend on other nations in Isaiah, but God tells Israel (and the nations) how they will wither. Putting faith in anything other than God himself is always a lesser undertaking. Even as our faith falters as Peter's we're continually called back. Let us never lose sight of our savior.
Between Psalms and Mark, today feels like a dialogue between two weary friends. Psalm 22 reflects how many of us probably feel when we don't think God is coming through, and Mark recalls how Jesus sat at a table with his own betrayer. In both cases, the one making the indictment sits face-to-face with the other. It's important, in times where we feel like God may have let us down, to remember to do the same.
Many want to be Jesus... but there is only one Jesus. He works with the Father and the Holy Spirit to bring us into the Kingdom both now and in the future.
How do you describe the power of God? Today's Psalm makes a pretty good start. Isaiah tells of his power to judge those who oppress his people, and Jesus talks about God judging his own people. But a loving God cannot show love if he doesn't judge evil.
Jesus isn't often immediately identified as a witty intellectual, but today he demonstrates that he certainly is. His authority was easily recognized, but his ability to say the right thing at the right time can't be understated. As quickly as he dispatched his debate opponents, though, we must remember that he also showed incredible grace and mercy.
God is worthy of our trust. He will not allow injustice to remain. In today's passages, God has judged mighty nations, and Jesus allows the bad stewards of God's house to expose themselves.
This is outside the reading plan. Psalm 139 is a great way to reflect on who God is, and how deeply we are known by him. The Psalms are a wellspring of spiritual depth, and they can do amazing work in us if we let them take us to the throne of God.
Jesus is bringing his ministry into its final days, and his disciples still don't get it. They still don't process what he means by his dying. In the midst of celebration, he executes a judgement on the temple. Things are getting wild, and the disciples have no idea what they're walking into. But he doesn't abandon them, despite their slowness of understanding. He is walking right into the completion of God's plan.
On All Saints Day, it is important to remember those who have given their lives for their faith. It is also important to remember the Savior we serve: not only our redeemer, but also the judge over those who create martyrs.
It's important that while God is loving, he also judges the nations. Isaiah spends a lot of time talking about what judged nations look like, but Jesus once again brings us back to the assurance that he isn't only choosing the elite, he's calling out to the damaged and dying. And if we belong to Christ and have been damaged because of the cruelty of another, we must leave judgment in his hands.
Both Psalms and Isaiah are calling us today to praise God for who he is, and Jesus shows us who he is indeed. May we all approach God as children approached Jesus: with awe and wonder, ready to live in his Kingdom.
Jesus had great power, but he didn't want to define his disciples by the power they wielded. It wasn't what defined his own ministry, either. Instead, he wanted his disciples to submit to one another, and for their greatest ambition to be the serving of others.
We must remember that although God is near, he is still the amazing, all-powerful creator of the Universe. He dared not let anyone see all of him, because nobody could survive even seeing him. In today's scripture, we're reminded to offer praise, and they're we're reminded why in the Transfiguration: Jesus really is that amazing.
Today, once again, Jesus takes a blind man aside to heal him. This time, it's interesting that the man seems to heal a little slowly. On the first pass, everything is blurry. Jesus touches him again, and he's able to see fully. Aren't we like this sometimes? Especially among instances of Jesus telling the disciples that they have eyes and ought to see, it's refreshing to see that Jesus doesn't give up on the disciples or the blind man when it takes them longer to receive their sight.
Today does something huge (preserving Jerusalem from their enemies, despite their great anxiety) and something he doesn't want anyone to hear about (the private healing of the deaf man). What a curious range of glories. It should certainly give us hope that while God can certainly show up in a big way, he's just as likely to be present in quiet, personal moments.
Despite the prevalence of sadness in today's readings, there's also a lot of hope. The second underlying message is that we're not doing anything to earn God's love or God's protection, he is sovereign and is looking out for the good of his people. It's tough to hold onto faith when we're surrounded by enemies, but God is only out to love us.
Today we get a glimpse of what it looks like to draw close to God. As Isaiah accepts his call and Jesus shows his disciples how he cares for them, these are not the activities of every believer. These are times when God did something extraordinary to show how extraordinary he truly is.
Yesterday was our disappointment with God, today we talk about God's disappointment with us. God disciplines those he loves, and that is sometimes hard to accept. We don't want to think that we're wrong, but somewhere in the midst of this we should be learning to trust God.
How do we handle disappointment with God? Sometimes it's hard to admit we even feel it. Jesus recognized this, and he came through to surprise everyone. Things don't always end like that, but God is always close by.
Today Jesus is escaping the crowds to make a beeline for a demon-possessed outcast. This flies in the face of our tendency to try to build the biggest crowd we can in our churches: not only did Jesus flee popularity, he actually made himself unpopular by upsetting the local livestock trade. God's ways don't always make sense, but they are worth standing up and taking notice of.
It must have been amazing to be in Jesus' inner circle. Sometimes you were confused, but you had a front row seat for all the action. God has always invited people, even the small and seemingly insignificant, into that place.
We are chosen God to participate in the work he is already doing. This was taking place in both the Old and New Testaments, and continues today. But we aren't alone; God continues beside us in his own work.
Wholeness and flourishing: those are the things God intended to define our lives. Jesus performed healing miracles on the Sabbath, and I don't think it was just because he ran into sick people in the temple. I think it's a portrait of what Sabbath is for: bringing wholeness back to our lives.
When God's people show obedience and walk with him, he shows up for them. Even in the presence of deceitful neighbors and uncertain time, he still invites us: "follow me."
Sometimes it can feel like we're waiting for our moment to come. In Maccabees, we see one great leader falls, while someone else is called up to take his place. Jesus is very careful about not letting fame interfere with ministry, and often tells people who have been healed not to even make it known. Timing is everything. God's timing may take longer than we expect, but it's always worth waiting for.
I admit I am growing weary of Maccabees. So much fighting.. but today's scripture is actually a good balance. The Psalms give us an opportunity to glorify God for who he is, and the calling of Jesus' disciples reminds us that his only qualifier for discipleship was the willingness to follow. This is refreshing to me. God isn't always showing up only in a firefight, he's also working in the common things.
The way God works isn't always the same. Sometimes he stands with the strong, other times he stands with the weak. Sometimes he's declaring that things are about to change from the lips of a charismatic wild man in the desert. Always, his character is to extend his love and draw us into his Kingdom.
It's hard to use the phrase, "God on our side." Surely, God has love for all of humanity. God is also true to his word, and preserves those whom he loves. Continuing through the battles of Maccabees and the resurrection of Jesus, God proves himself faithful.
Both the martyrs of Maccabees and Jesus on the cross yield their ultimate destiny to God. This was a final measure of faith that Jesus proved was worth the gamble. This behavior isn't limited to martyrs, though. Every day, we must choose to put ourselves in God's hands, in matters that may seem trivial to us.
A lot of talk of martyrdom today, both just before the time of Jesus in Maccabees and the next step of Jesus' own execution. We certainly hope that we never face such an end, but we are in good company if we do. Psalms reminds us that God is faithful, and we must also be faithful in whatever ways are given to us.
Psalm 104 is an extended recognition of God's creative power, but the contrast between Maccabees and Matthew once again reminds us of Jesus' commitment to avoid taking his kingly title by force. It's incredible to think that a savior with the power of the universe refused to unfurl it upon his enemies as they prepared him for death.
The reading from Maccabees is an interesting contrast to Jesus. While Antiochus Epiphanes sought to own and control religion through graphic violence, Jesus rebukes the use of the sword even to save his own life. This is a hard lesson in a world where we often applaud solving conflict with more death.
(Readings from Maccabees are from the NRSV.)
We're covering a wide range today: from glory to betrayal. But it is all a part of the life of God. We do our share of each, hopefully the former more than the latter.
We've been learning what it means to be like Jesus, now we're putting it in action. Faith in your head isn't enough. It needs to trickle down to your heart and extend to those around you.
We are in union with Christ, and Christ is in union with God the Father. This is humbling and a little intimidating. It means that we are deeply loved, but it also means that we should start to take on the qualities of those with whom we share union.
God is holy, and Jesus is Lord. It's easy to say these things, but harder to live them. If we believe God is holy, then we don't treat him casually. (Sometimes we might talk to him casually, but we must remember who we're addressing.) If Jesus is Lord, there ought to be evidence of sacrifice in our lives. We can't follow our own way and his, and at some point we ought to feel a tension that can only be resolved by making a conscious choice to put our choices last and his first.
What does it mean to be the people of God? There's a great need to learn to trust God, and sometimes that means remaining faithful in the rough times. Waiting on God can be difficult, but we must allow ourselves to be formed spiritually in both good times and bad.
We want to think of Jesus as the guy who stands and waves everyone through the door, kind of like a cosmic buddy. Today he has harsh words, though. He gives warnings to those who want to look holy but are filled with the stench of death.
Today I hear God asking, "do you trust me?" For your well-being? For your status? It's a tough question, and we're probably not ready to answer, usually. But he asks just the same.
Today seems to be focused on naming. The Psalm calls God by the name he has called himself throughout Zechariah, "Lord of Heaven's Armies," a response that seems to indicate that Israel has finally embraced it. Jesus touches twice on the particulars of marriage, a time when new identities are taken by both parties. "Husband." "Wife." And in many cultures, a name is also changed. But we wear the name of Christ as well. As the church we, are his bride, and we take a new identity in that family.
God is looking for faithfulness. Not flashiness; Jesus actually preached against that. He is looking for a steadfast follower who takes him seriously in the common things, who stays focused on what God is doing.
In addition to the Old Testament connection of Jesus riding into Jerusalem, there's a lot to think about when it comes to out identity as followers today. How are we different as believers? And how will that look if outsiders start to show up?
The conversation between two people who know one another well is interesting. Sometimes it's cordial, but sometimes it becomes very frank, almost rude. Such conversations are taking place today. From the lament of the Psalmist ending with praise, to God telling his people to get on with their lives, to Jesus helping his disciples understand that they needed to rethink his message; these are not throwaway conversations.
A lot of talk to day about reward, but it is not without sacrifice. This is something we must remember as we try to live Kingdom lives in the here and now.
A lot of what we're reading today is about Godly leadership. Remember that we are called to pray for out leaders (in fact, one of today's Psalms is that very type of prayer!), even when we disagree with them.
Not a lot of close connections between these verses, but the passage from Matthew does remind us that God expects us to show mercy, just as he shows us mercy. We are agents of God's blessing.
A lot about God's and Jesus' lordship today, including the story of the transfiguration. We've had a lot of hard words through our reading lately, so it's good to remember that God is sovereign and worthy of majesty.
Today is about relationships. God's relationship with his people, and Jesus' relationship with his disciples. And his relationship with us, as he predicts his own death.
Challenging words today. God challenging his people, the people challenging God, Jesus challenging his disciples. Being a disciple isn't about carrying a title, it's about carrying a cross.
Neat connection between the old and new testaments talking about what defiles you and what doesn't. We're not to pursue a purity code, we're meant to follow a Savior.
Lot of ups and downs today. Psalm 51 is an often-quoted Psalm of confession, the product of King David's sorrow. But at the end of the day, Peter gets to (briefly) walk on the water with Jesus.
More angry Psalms. More judgment. This part can be something we wade through to get to the happier sections, but remember that God is sovereign, and he calls us his children.
Sometimes the Bible seems like an awkward conversation, one you'd like to slip out of the room to avoid. Don't. Learn to be honest with God. The people we trust are the ones with whom we can be that honest.
Sometimes the Psalms aren't happy, and sometimes Jesus says some hard things. Both of those going on in today's scripture.